I've been an artist for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago and majored in Art at Eastern Illinois University. Later I worked as a graphic designer, then started painting in oils again in 1987.

My husband and I have a home in rural Arroyo Grande and share it with our Border Collies, parrot, parakeet, exotic finches, tortoises and chickens.

As an artist my major influences have been French Impressionists such as Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Pissarro and early 19th century California Plein-Air* painters; their work and their fierce dedication to art. I continue studying, a never-ending process. I have done workshops with Ted Goerschner and Joyce Pike, Libby Tolley & Barry J. Raybould.

I have lived mainly in California since 1969, and have had the fortune to travel all over the US, and have visited Central America, Europe, South Africa and Australia. I love California's varied landscapes, which I find to be an unlimited resource for the landscapes and plein-air painting I love to do. Painting outdoors is my favorite studio. It's intense, and I have to work quickly and decisively to capture the lighting before it all changes. It's incredibly invigorating with Nature in full display, and I always have my best painting buddy with me, Slick, my Border Collie companion. Wild and rural California landscapes are precious and are in danger of vanishing. Like many artists, I search out and paint them in hopes of sharing their beauty and help preserve them.

I have exhibited my work since 1990 in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo County. I belong to the San Luis Obispo Art Association, El Camino Art Association and Oil Painters of America, California Art Club, SLOPE (San Luis Outdoor Painters Enterprise). I am honored to be included in Marquis Who's Who in America 56th & 57th Editions. My work can be seen at Portico Gallery in Montecito, California, and various local shows.

I welcome collaborating with clients on special projects and have done commissioned paintings of residences, landscapes as well as commercial installations.