I am an oil painter living in Anchorage, Alaska.  Artwork is a form of expression that has served me well as a student, wildlife biologist, middle school teacher, parent, and now an artist. I have been painting for about ten years, with the first few years only in preparation for art classes. Painting sporadically was not conducive to my learning. Eight years ago I joined Daily Paintworks (DPW an online gallery), where the philosophy is to commit to a small painting everyday. The “almost” daily practice is how I began learning how to paint. As my paintings began to accumulate I joined a local nonprofit gallery called The Girdwood Center for Visual Arts (GCVA). During my last year on the GCVA board of directors we were able to initiate two yearly art scholarships for students enrolled in college programs.
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​​​​​​​Recently my husband and I bought a sailboat that we keep in Washington state, which happens to also be where I am from originally. Traveling through the Pudget Sound has seriously reduced my almost daily painting time. On the flip side it has inspired me to paint beyond my Alaska experiences. Down time on the boat allows me to sketch more often as well as catch up on painting classes from my favorite online art school Kara Bullock. At the beginning of the year I joined the Plein Air Washington Artists (PAWA). It turns out that many of the painting locations are easily accessible by boat. I have also scouted out many art cooperatives accessible by boat. I am fortunate to have just been juried into my second nonprofit The Sydney Museum and Arts Association (SMAA).  It is located in Port Orchard, WA  just blocks from where we keep our boat.