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My artistic journey took a new direction when my husband Ed and I moved to the Berkshires in 2004. For 25 years, while residing in the coastal town of Rockport, Massachusetts, I was primarily a plein-air painter, working in a loose, painterly style. With relocation and all else that was new in our lives, I began a quest to create paintings that were more personally expressive.
We moved into Eclipse Mill Artist Lofts in North Adams, a former textile mill that was converted to live/work space for artists. In my new studio I made every effort to be experimental with no specific goal in mind. I thought a lot about what I liked and what I didn’t like and I welcomed the influences of artists around me.
I realized that my passion for painting landscapes remained strong. Painting is my connection to nature. There’s a harmony in nature that I want to be close to, but I don’t need my paintings to look just like nature.
My ideas come from sketching on location. Afterwards, painting in my studio, I begin the process of discovering a creative solution. I find an interesting aspect of a subject and then freely change and invent whatever will give a sense of that subject without being literal. I’m guided by the principle “exaggerate the essential, eliminate the obvious” and enjoy the constant give and take, reacting to what I see and what I want, and accepting new ideas along the way. I’m leading and following at the same time.
My oil paintings are now based on the Berkshire landscape, but what I’m really interested in is pattern, connections, expressive color, rhythm, and variety.
I try to react to each new subject without regard to what I’ve done before. I believe that painting should be about discovery, making choices, intuition, and fun. I like the quote by Pablo Picasso, “Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.”
"Congratulations! Gorgeous gallery, gorgeous work. Kudos!"