I was born and raised in Southeast Florida, surrounded by warm water and an abundance of maritime subject matter to paint and enjoy. Both of my parents, originally from the Northeast coast, were very talented self-taught artist who supplemented my father's early retirement income by exhibiting in juried outdoor art festivals; so I literally grew up "on the street" as I say, nurtured artistically by a tight nit community of quirky but dedicated artists.

Even though I was born in the south, my father's love of the northeast coast, its fishing boats, rocky shores and lighthouses apparently influenced me a great deal because that is still my favorite type of subject matter to paint (regardless of the coast). Incidentally, it is Gig Harbor's charming waterfront and lovely people that inspired me to relocate my family here from Florida - well that and the fact that there is less sun, colder temperatures and NO hurricanes!

I drew incessantly as a child. I tease that it was because I didn't have any toys, but it's probably closer to the truth that drawing required the least amount of physical movement which was advantageous in the heat of the midday sun when temperatures hovered around 100 degrees with the same humidity and we didn't have any air conditioning or ceiling fans (those were apparently invented after I reached maturity and moved out of the house). Like my parents, I am self-taught with little to no formal art training (though I do give a lot of credit to Ms. Osborne, my high school art teacher). Upon graduation from high school I received two full scholarships to prestigious art institutes on the east coast but I was naturally rebellious and chose a very different career path in the field of high tech communications.

For the last twenty years I have "paid the bills" as the co-owner and a principle officer of WorkEasy, Corp, a nationwide virtual office phone service for small business start-ups (a small business my then-husband and I started in our early years). On the art front, I have been a part-time watercolor and chalk pastel instructor at Tacoma Community College and regularly exhibit at local art fairs including the Annual Maritime Gig Festival, the Annual Gig Harbor Summer Art Festival, the Open Studio Tour and the Gig Harbor Farmer's Market. My artwork is in both private and corporate collections but I have declined, at least to-date, to be represented by any area galleries because I still enjoy selling directly to the public which gives me the opportunity to meet with and speak to so many wonderful people that I would not otherwise have the opportunity to get to know personally.

My latest endeavor involves completing my new 660 sq ft studio located next to my home. The new space will give me ample room to "play", exhibit my work year round and most importantly, offer private art lessons to artists of all ages.