In the everyday rush of life, nature’s beauty allows us to take some time to reconnect and breathe. I find comfort in studying the lines of leaves, the feel of the atmosphere, the brilliant colors, and the balance of form found in botanical subjects. My work is about highlighting the details of plants and trees often found just outside my door. I create botanical paintings that capture the everyday elements of the natural world and render them with a sense of grace. Collectors of my work comment that my paintings calm them and bring them a sense of balance.
As an environmental consultant and a mother, I often find my time streaming by. Painting gives me the time and space to shift to longer, slower movements. My subjects are sketched in the field or picked and brought home to sit in a jar of water so I can take my time to sketch and paint them on paper.
I work in watercolor because I love the atmospheric quality of the paint and the immediacy of results. Watercolor paints are wonderfully versatile—I can pack them up in a small bag and paint as I move through the world. All I need is water and a painting surface, be it artist paper or a paper bag. I have painting journals from all times in my life—living in Nepal, Mongolia, California, Washington DC, New York, Vermont, Wisconsin—and I have been able to capture both the landscape and my place in it, mainly in the form of watercolor paintings.
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