In 1995, I decided to join a large and growing group of artists in the well-known art community of Wimberley, in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. We paint together outdoors as well as come together in our studios to draw inspiration from the association of like spirits and the diversity of styles and talents. The focus of my painting is in the simplification of details to better emphasize the most significant features of a subject. I enjoy using rich colors and broken brush strokes to achieve the quality I want in a painting. The landscape of Texas is my primary subject but I enjoy painting domestic animals, florals and still life as well.

An explanation of encaustic painting follows this biography.

Although I have been an oil painter since the age of eight, and still have that first painting, I didn't become dedicated to painting until much later. Since receiving my Master of Arts in Visual Arts at the University of Houston at Clear Lake in 1992, I have participated in many shows and competitions in which recognition was received, including Best of Show and First in Still Life and First in Landscape awards in various exhibits. Although I have also participated in workshops I find that, on a regular basis, just painting constantly, with awareness, is one of the best teachers.

I was juried into the prestigious OIL PAINTERS OF AMERICA, a national organization dedicated to the preservation of representational art and am an active member of the Wimberley Valley Art League, the New Braunfels Art League, and have recently joined the Coppini Academy of Art group in San Antonio. I was a founding member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts and member of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. My work is included in corporate and private collections, many of these in the Houston-Galveston area but is also represented in collections from California to Maine to Florida.

Please see my work at Gallery on the Square, Wimberley, Witte Global Gallery, Austin, Bremond House Gallery, Elgin, the H.Y. Price Center, San Marcos, Jackson's Uptown Antiques in Fredericksburg, and Lilli Pell Studio in Wimberley. See my gallery page for more information.

ENCAUSTIC

Encaustic is a beeswax based paint that is applied to a surface and heated to fuse the paint into a uniform enamel-like finish. The word encaustic comes from Greek and means to burn in, which refers to the process of fusing the paint.
Encaustic has a long history, but it is as versatile as any 20th century medium. It can be polished to a high gloss, it can be modeled, sculpted, textured, and combined with collage materials. It cools immediately and it can always be reworked.
The durability of encaustic is due to the fact that beeswax is impervious to moisture. Because of this it will not deteriorate, it will not yellow, and it will not darken. Encaustic paintings do not have to be varnished or protected by glass. Further information can be found by searching the Internet for the topic "encaustic painting."


"LIGHT BULB" EXPERIENCE

I remember the moment I first realized I could learn to draw and paint. It was like the “light bulb” experience. I was enjoying a particularly appealing drawing and I thought, “I can do this!” There was no doubt in my heart or mind and from that moment my goal has been to keep learning about and producing art. Eventually, after completing my formal studies and exploring many avenues, I realized oil painting was and is my niche. Beginning the day with a paintbrush in my hand and fresh paint on my palette is a pleasure hard to describe.

"I PAINT WHAT I FIND IRRESISTIBLE"

I am often asked how I come to select my subjects and the answer is “I paint what I find irresistible.” I don’t know what produces the inner motivation and compulsion to capture the moment in paint, but it is definitely consistent and ever present. It is almost always triggered by the play of light and how it changes constantly on the landscape and how it defines the uniqueness of a still life, a flower, or a beautiful animal.

ENJOYING THE LIGHT

A very positive, personal result of this desire to paint is the enjoyment I receive from the necessary, very intense observation of how light strikes objects and what colors and shapes are produced by the presence of that light. All painters are painters of light because we wouldn’t have a subject if the light were not there.

FAVORITE QUOTES

"The artist has to say it without saying it."
(Louie Armstrong)

“Look at light and admire its beauty. Close your eyes, and then look again: what you saw is no longer there; and what you will see later is not yet.” (Leonardo da Vinci)

I like to see the following quote as an encouragement to display our paintings with the best light we can provide on them.

“The vivacity and brightness of colors in a landscape will never bear any comparison with a landscape in nature when it is illumined by the sun, unless the painting is placed in such a position that it will receive the same light from the sun as does the landscape.” (Leonardo da Vinci)

TECHNIQUE VARIES

I use the style or technique which best compliments the subject and takes advantage of the wonderful qualities of oil paint. Taking that buttery paint, putting it in the right place with the right color and right value become my joy and obsession when I start to paint. Using distinctive brush strokes that vary from the very soft and subtle to the quite bold within a single painting can contribute to a sense of freshness and reality, which is my goal for each representational work.

EXPERIMENTING WITH PAINTING MEDIUMS

Working with different oil painting mediums also contributes to keeping my work energized. To work in oil mixed with wax and then heat it on the painted surface (encaustic) is a way to achieve texture as well as impart a richness of color to the surface. The serendipitous results using this medium are invigorating. As I work back and forth from one technique to the other it stimulates me to experiment with different ways of painting using various combinations of oil painting mediums.