I have always been driven to interpret and respond to life through painting and drawing. While pursuing and enjoying a wonderful career in teaching for 35 years, I also continued to develop my interest and skills in visual arts through courses at Central Technical Art School, Sheridan College and Haliburton School of the Arts. Happily I was able to integrate my passion for visual arts into my teaching programmes and over the years I have shared ideas and skills with children as a means to inspire them to express their learning and ideas creatively. Since retiring from full time teaching I have been able to pursue my passion to paint, create and develop as an artist on a full time basis.
Each painting is a new adventure, a new exploration and a new discovery about the medium, the subject and myself. I enjoy exploring organic shapes, and therefore florals, landscape, and the figure are favourite subjects. My goal is to capture the vibrancy of nature and the atmosphere of place.
Texture and colour tend to dominate as modes of expression in order to create paintings that are dramatic and dynamic impressions of the natural world. I achieve texture using mediums or collaged paper applied to the canvas before painting an undercoat.
Whether I use watercolour, acrylic or collage, depends on the subject and the effect I wish to achieve.
I am presently working on a series of collage/acrylics. I draw/paint my composition on the canvas based on sketches from several of my own photographs. Using papers of different texures that I have previously painted, I piece together the composition, combining paint and painted papers. At times I find the inclusion of some line adds interest to the composition. The bottom line is that experimentation is the key in order to achieve a fresh result.
Memberships and Affiliations: Ontario College of Teachers, Visual Arts Mississauga, Springbank Artists, Neilson Park Creative Centre and the Etobicoke Art Group, as well as Oakville ArtWorks.
Juried Shows: Etobicoke Art Group at The Etobicoke Civic Centre, Art Gallery of Mississauga, ArtWorks at the Oakville Town Hall, and Neilson Park Creative Centre.
Exhibitions:
The McMichael Gallery: Progressions 2009
Berkana Gallery in Sault Ste Marie
Gallery in the Garden at Sherway Gardens
Springbank’s Spring is in the Air Show and Sale at VAM I have participated Lakeshore Art Trail for the last three years.
My paintings and custom painted Muskoka Chairs have found homes in private collections in Canada and the US.
Just recently, my submission for The Culham Trail Challenge, entitled Morning Invitation, was chosen by Ron Lenyk, CEO of the Living Art Centre.
