Painting
is my bliss. Whether it is a day spent with oils doing plein air
canvases or a rainy day in my Charleston studio reworking a field
sketch, it's where I want to be. It all began with art history and
fine art at Duke University, moved to Museum of Fine Art classes
in Boston, and a total visceral commitment the first time I saw the
Impressionist collections in person in Paris. From that time on I have
always made time for painting. Rearing four children and working along
the way, but never losing sight of my deep desire to translate the
natural world and my reaction to it into paint. 
I became a committed
fulltime painter after discovering that I have a seriously threatening
eye condition (occular histoplasmosis) in 1988. The awareness that
I do not know now and have never known since then just how long I will
be able to see well enough to paint has been hugely motivating. As
scary as it has been, I feel that ultimately it has been an extremely
positive factor in keeping me highly conscious of the excruciating
beauty all around us.
I believe I see things with different eyes as I
look through this filter. Since then I have had over 100 one-woman shows,
participated in numerous group exhibits, shown in museums in the
southeast, won three poster contests, written and illustrated a children's
book that has gone into its third printing , been commissioned to do the
Charleston Visitors Guide cover which turned into posters and a gift
line for the Charleston Aquarium, among other recognitions.
The children's
book I wrote and illustrated in 1999 , Rosebud Roams Charleston, has gone
into it's third printing , has a series of attendant prints, and has spawned
opportunities to speak in many forums. My second book, The Circle, A
Walk With Dementia, has led to my hosting 80 podcast on the subject
for the Medical University of South Carolina and has raised thousands of
dollars for related research.. My deepest desire is that I will continue to paint
, growing and stretching, in my quest to honestly put my vision on canvas and,
hopefully , open other's consciousness in some small way to this mystery and celebration
that I feel.
The
artist was born in Memphis, Tennessee, graduated from Duke University
with a major in English and a focus in art, and has taken
continuing education classes and workshops intermittently. Along the
years she has had such diverse careers as: Chief Librarian of Duke
University Chemistry Library, a fashion model, and a career in
historic restoration. Her works are in corporate and private
collections in over 100 cities across the United States and abroad.
She lives in Charleston where she and her husband have reared their four
children.
Parting words to fellow artists:
Just do it. Clear your mind,
forget all the reasons why it is not a good time or too hard to fit in.
Just
clear your mind and do it. You will never be younger. Be easy on yourself.
Play with it. Just have fun. It is not a life or death matter. I find
some of the most talented people I know don't paint because they are perfectionists and it
has to be right right off. Painting a painting is like writing a symphony in
some ways, full of contrasts, highs and lows, quiet places so crescendos are more
powerful, structure and balance, different textures. There is so much to learn about
composing a painting. These are all components we can study and practice until we
have an inner sense of them. Work hard, study lots, take classes and do lots of studies,
be willing to make mistakes, be disciplined and daily in your comfort with your
materials, but when you go out to paint, my best advice is to clear your circuits of the
world, turn and face your subject and get lost in it. Don't quit thinking, all that you
have studied is there in you, but let it flow. Stop counting the steps and listen to the
music. Let it tell you where to go. What do you want to say? What made you
want to paint it? Paint that. Otherwise just take a photo.
