These will heal you. – Henri Matisse, 1945  (A promise about the beneficent radiation of his color as he placed his paintings around the bed of a sick friend).

Have you ever felt like you needed a lift and looking at art literally made you feel better?

One of my clients bought one of my mixed media pieces because she said it was meditative and peaceful. When I hear that, I feel satisfied that my intentions in making art are communicated.

I’ve always been a curious person and I like creating pieces that explore the mystery and the simple beauty of things around us such as bowls, rings, and pebbles. 

I grew up in Louisiana and started drawing around the same time I started sewing, when I was nine. I won a school-wide drawing contest in the fifth grade. I love design and composition and making art is my way to tell stories through the arrangement of elements. Oftentimes when I am painting, there is no preplanned plot and the story comes through me as though I am channeling color, shape, line, form, and texture. 

The list of sources of inspiration could be quite lengthy. For now I'll mention that I am inspired by the vibrant colors of Vincent Van Gogh and the Fauvists (especially Henri Matisse), the lively lines of Wassily Kandinsky, the decisive moments captured by photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, and the mysterious interplay of the inventive works of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy.

In case you aren’t familiar with monotypes they are printed paintings. I apply non-toxic water-based paints to plexiglass which is then run through the printing press. I like the translucency and gestural quality of this medium.

My photograms are created in the darkroom under an enlarger. Objects are placed on top of photo-sensitive paper and flashed with light. Again, another gestural medium, one that has a “seeing where I don’t usually see” x-ray sense to it.

I consider myself an “emerging artist” even though I had my first solo show in 1991, and have been in many juried group shows, especially since 2004. I have been in Open Studios. I’ve won some awards, including recognition from San Francisco juriors Matt McKinley and Valentin Papov. In February of this year my work was reviewed in the San Francisco Examiner.

Now, I don’t think awards or recognition or degrees are as important as knowing what is true for oneself and honoring that. I sought external validation of my work and I got it. I am happy to be continuing on a creative path that takes me to a place with no beginning or end; artmaking takes me to the Gap (the one Deepak Chopra refers to). It is the path with Heart. And I think the world needs Heart more than ever.

I forgot to mention. Yes, my artwork is for sale. : - )  

For me there is only the traveling on the paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge for me is to traverse its full length. And there I travel—looking, looking, breathlessly. -Carlos Castaneda