My mother, brothers, sister and I then moved to southern California. It was there that I met Kevin, while he was in the Air Force, stationed in the high desert near Victorville. Shortly after we married, we moved to Tennessee to be closer to his family. After nine years there, Kevin and I brought our three young sons to Florida, where we bought a house with room for a large organic vegetable garden, many tropical plants and trees. We also have a koi pond and aviary to enjoy. Our sons are all adults now.
When our youngest son went off to college, I decided to go back to school myself. The college credits I had earned studying art and music in California were accepted by a local community college, and I had my Associate of Arts degree after two semesters. I transferred to the University of Central Florida and received a B.A. in Liberal Arts degree with a minor in Music in 2005. It was an Honors in the Major program for which I completed a thesis entitled: Moss: A Closer Look At This Humble Plant And Its Place Within The Historical Context Of Landscape Painting, Considering Its Ecological Significance With Reflections On Nature And Balance. The thesis included artwork done in oil, ceramics, and etching, along with written work including poems I wrote in a section called Reflections.
I started graduate school in 2005 and completed an Arts Management Certificate in 2007. In 2008, I received a Master of Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration on Art & Culture in Society. My Master's thesis is entitled Painting the Sublime Landscape and Learning to See Nature Along the Way. The thesis includes ten landscape paintings, photos of which are posted on this website. Three of these paintings feature Icelandic scenes, two are of Kaaterskill Falls in upstate New York, two feature the setting sun in the Georgia Sky, and three form a triptych depicting the Florida Sky. I have great admiration for the work of 19th century landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church and incorporated this influence into the body of my written work. I am very thankful for the educational opportunities I have received. It is enriching to learn new things and develop my interests in art, music, philosophy, and other subjects. I also have the privilege of playing cello in the University orchestra.
I have enjoyed painting for many years. It is a medium by which I attempt to communicate my values and priorities, though I have often been reluctant to display my work publicly. It is my hope that some may appreciate my small voice within the enormously competitive world of visual arts. That is the impetus behind the development of this website.