My Inspiration and Background

I relocated to Indiana from the Chicago area in the early 2000s. I have years of experience in the fine arts and graphic design. I attended the Art Institute of Chicago and Northern Illinois University and taught at the Art Institute of Indianapolis and Ivy Tech in Indianapolis.

Realtors aren't the only people who post dated photos of themselves!
	Photo courtesy of Robert Wilcox

 

What is the first memory of wanting to create art?

I’ve wanted to be an artist since I was a small child. If the paper hasn’t deteriorated, I have my first “figurative” work! I recall, at age 5, fighting with my friend Nancy over art supplies. We are friends to this day, were both fine art professors, and own our painting supplies outright!

At age ten, I was fortunate my mom enrolled me in oil painting classes at the local art league. I have had some marvelous mentors along the way.

One of my earliest mentors was my mom’s friend, Pat Wylie. Pat was a Chicago artist. I have fond memories of lunches with my mom and Pat. Being in grammar school, I was a bit bored with adult talk. Pat would reach into her deep purse and pull out a watercolor set, paper, brushes, and a small container with water for me to create art!  Pat encouraged me to enter my first art professional art show.

One of my "assistants" inspecting the equipment!

In addition to creating art, what was your favorite career?

Teaching art and design. I loved being of service to others. It was exciting to enter a classroom to find an ongoing debate about the arts! It was fantastic to talk about art concepts and see students absorbing the information, then making it their own.

I learned a lot from my students. When I began teaching full-time, I noticed my work began growing in leaps and bounds. I attribute part of this growth to the questions and comments from my student while critiquing their art. So many of them are eager to learn about art and design. My students often had perspectives different from mine, which helped push my horizons and knowledge as an artist.

Through social media, I’ve had the privilege to watch many of my graduates grow in their art, design, and lives.

In the arts, if you retain an open mind, you will never stop learning.

What are your creative process and the art styles you’re exploring now?

I don’t use pencil and paper to create my concept work; I do everything digitally.

In my early work, I integrated organic shapes with man-made structures. In Photoshop, I combined the photos, then manipulated, merged, added to, and eliminated areas until the final image emerged. Once satisfied, I used the completed digital image as a visual reference for paintings.

In recent work, I explore urban display windows merging the window content with the reflections of the city. It is more image-oriented than previous work, yet I found a strong sense of bold color and flattened forms in my earlier work.

Me, in Seattle, explaining just how large that dinosaur had to be!

What do you want for yourself as an artist?

I want to continue to grow in my art and creativity.

What is your biggest obstacle in making art?

Time!!! I have the ideas; it’s always about time!

What do you want for your collectors?

I hope investors will see my passion and experience. If you invest in my art, I hope you will love what you see and see the value of your purchase.

 

Press Kit & CV

Click on this link to download a copy of my Press Kit with CV.