I have gone through a lot of different growth periods. Techniques develop over a period of time, actually through a lot of trial and error. I see design and color in everything I look at or do. Decorating a home, clothing, flower gardens, even a meal.

For the past five or six years I’ve been intrigued by watercolor. The results are a combination of several different techniques used together.

Watercolor triggers an emotional response and I use it to communicate my feelings to others through combined experiences. I’m always planning my next painting. With watercolor transparences, flowers take on an almost ethereal, light and airy look. I try to facilitate a connection by developing an image near the edge between realism and abstraction. I spend a lot of time planning the design or placement of the subjects in the painting then proceed into the color process. I really get excited as the salt technique I use in the background works. It brings everything together, and colors explode! Exciting things happen during this process.

Background colors are planned but results of salt absorption are quite interesting. I do thumbnail sketches of the majority of all my paintings. The key for successful results though is through visualizing a finished product before you begin.

I owe a great deal to my family, friends and instructors for giving me support and encouraging me through the arts the past twenty years.