How long have you been painting?

I have been making art since I was a kid. I was that introverted strange little girl you see with her nose stuck in a sketchbook. Peeking out over the top every now and then to check onthe outside world. That'show I got my nickname Keek. Thesepeeking eyes. Collage was my first love. I was obsessed with it as a teenager.I've been painting for eleven years. With the birth of my daughter came the birth of my paintings. My firstcommissionwas aswap withmy midwives in exchange for their services.

What other artists or movements inform your work/aesthetics/sensibilities?

I was very drawn to surrealismin my younger years which reveals itself in my paintings sometimes...or often...i don't know. Early Japanese women poets inspire me. Archetypal psychology. I'm an ostrich. My head's in the ground. Oblivious presently. Years later I will be able to answer this question. Really.

How would you describe your work?

It's been called surrealism, symbolism, alchemical, visionary. I call it intuitive because I generally paint whatever flows from brush to painting surface. Without much prior thought. Neurotic meditation. Is that possible?

What are your motivations for creating?

I'm fascinated by the ethereal andsubterranean. I often create simply to keep myself grounded. To maintain some balance between light and heavy. It feels like purely selfish reasons. But when someone writes to tell me they were moved to tears by my art or that a certain painting gave them a sense of serenity or empowerment I feel less selfish and more a part of a larger consciousness. Connected even in a self perceived isolation. I'm elated when this happens. Elation as motivation. Definitely.

How, if at all, have the events of 9-11 impacted your art making?

That's another question I'll be able to answer in some years...in retrospect. It's a very good question and will be interesting to analyze today's artists and what defines a new movement. Or non-movement. Some American artists are presently using guerilla surrealism as a statement about the ugliness and absurdity of war. I think that's awesome.

What do you find visually stimulating right now?

Red. Everything red. And sushi. (I'm hungry.)

Tell me about some upcoming projects.

I'm painting like a madwoman. Very inspired. I have a collage titled 'The Monkeyhouse of Soul'being published in a very cool zine called ArtErratica this month. My painting 'Scorpionic'went into The Collection Art Visionary which is Australia's largest collection of international outsider, fantastic, visionary and surreal art this month as well. I'm looking forward to displaying work at a local show themed'Blue'in May.

What would you like your fellow EBSQ artists and our collectors to know about you and/or your work?

I have learned much through this artists' community and respect the tenacity of many EBSQ members.(Thank you.) It would have taken years to accomplish on my own what I have accomplished in a small amount oftime through online networking. We're making history here. Artists and collectors alike.