Born
and raised in Brattleboro, Vermont, my life has been centered
around nearby Putney since the late 1960s. My education
focused on accounting, sprinkled with an occasional course in "Drawing
101" but my creative impulses were placed on hold for 40 years while
I raised my two sons and worked as a rural mail carrier. Since
retiring in 2001, my activities have centered on my gardens and local
non-profit organizations including the Putney Historical Society and
the Putney Community Center.
An afternoon fundraising event in 2003, featuring the
Putney Artists group (formed by Richard Schmid) painting in the
inspirational gardens of Gordon and Mary Hayward, was the catalyst that
reawakened my desire to paint. A nine-month intensive course
taught at Putney's Village Arts Barn by Peter Granucci in 2003/2004,
gave me the confidence to resume experimenting with pencil, charcoal,
oil and watercolor.
I am most inspired by natural images. It's a joy to capture the innocence in the face of a child. It's a challenge to interpret the effects of time and weather on a tree, the fleeting beauty of a flower, or the mysterious texture of moss. Sometimes the details are what appeals to me; sometimes it's just the aura.
