Living in the Napa Valley and owning a home at Lake Almanor has provided me with a tremendous amount of inspiration for my art. I am inspired by nature and I try to capture my love of wildlife in my paintings.
I find painting with watercolors very exciting. Sometimes you don’t know exactly what will happen even with careful planning. One of my favorite techniques is to paint a loose background creating an almost “out of focus” look and then paint the subject (often a bird) with a lot of detail.
Thanks to my wonderful and supportive husband I have a new studio in my backyard. (No longer painting in my daughter’s old bedroom) It has a huge window that lets in a lot of natural light and provides a wonderful view of flowers, plants and birds in our yard.
Over the years as I developed my skills as an artist I have learned that there are many aspects of painting that bring me joy: the peacefulness of quietly painting in my studio, meeting and learning from the limitless number of artists willing to share their insight, passing on my own knowledge to those who are curious about how I work, and making many friends along the way.
Being a part of the Jessel Gallery, surrounded by so many wonderful artists, has encouraged me to challenge myself to become a better artist and to try new things. The feeling I get when I walk into our gallery is pure joy.
