About

Art has always been an important part of life for me. I fell into it and in love with it at around the age of four. I also came from a creative family on my dad’s side so I was always encouraged in my love of drawing and painting. My dad worked as a “lay-out” man in steel fabrication and in various shipyards. He would bring home stacks of paper and large black crayons used in his line of work. I would use the blank side of the paper to do my drawings!

At age eight I was enrolled into art classes for children at the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) in my hometown of Oakland, CA. I continued those Saturday classes until the age of seventeen. Beginning at age eighteen and throughout my adult life I continued taking art classes not only at CCAC but wherever art classes were offered. I observed that the emphasis in the majority of classes was on “free expression”. My desire for more traditional, classical training eventually led me in 1991 to the Atelier of Classical Realism in Oakland. This small independent school was run by the artist, David Hardy, out of a funky storefront. I brought in some of my drawings and was accepted as his student! I remained there for 27 years and eventually assisted David in teaching.

In addition to fine art I have studied scientific illustration and lettering arts. Today my main focus is on oil painting. I also work in pastel, or choose to draw with pencil or charcoal. Over the years I have entered competitions, taught privately and in classroom settings, exhibited in group and one-woman shows and in art fairs. My work is collected in the U.S. and abroad. Some of my work is on permanent collection at Las Trampas Inc.,,a non-profit organization which supports adults with developmental disabilities. Las Trampas is located in Lafayette, CA.

Realism is my natural form of expression. Over the years I have come to realize that within realism lies an element of abstraction.