Artist Bio:

I come from a large family grounded in the mountains and in kindness which to me are much the same thing. Also grounded in the mountains and in kindness is my marriage to my husband, Travis, who is my home. We have lived in the Columbia River Gorge / Mt. Hood area for almost 30 years. This is where we raised our son, Oscar, who is a spectacular person of many talents.

I have much love and gratitude for Portland State University and the city of Portland, Oregon, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in Art History in 1997. I especially want to thank Mark Trowbridge and Jane Kristof for their mentorship and the care and feeding of my art history education. I also want to thank Susan Harlan for her excellent
painting instruction, including introducing me to the “twenty works project” process – a practice that would bring my painting back to life after a long break for motherhood.

Gratitude also for my art studio, which first crash landed in my frozen Parkdale basement from outer space as a perfectly designed vehicle for my many solo flights. It is now parked in the back of my garage. This tiny, sometimes too cold, sometimes too hot, probably too dark space is a place where no matter what is happening in the world, still I feel powerful and at peace with myself.

I’ve been working mostly with transparent oil colors by Gamblin, usually on canvas or board, with a palette developed by the needs of the forest pieces.

I am a 24/7 artist with a 4/10s day job. If you meet me out in the world, I hate small talk but I LOVE to talk about art. Tell me about yours!