I moved to Portland, Maine two years ago to be near my only child Morgan. I needed to find my own place here and started taking a couple of art courses. I soon found Roux & Cyr where I started painting and haven’t stopped.

I have always loved art, particularly drawings by old masters, so for many years I drew with pencil on charcoal, learning a little here and there and then having lapses of time when I did not draw. But even when I wasn’t drawing I often found myself staring at someone’s face and the light around them. I’m pretty good at looking at detail, but I am constantly ‘seeing more,’ whether it’s a detail, light, shadow, a color, or a feeling.

I have been painting a lot of animals which I love, but I’m equally drawn to humans. Eyes are one of my favorites, and I do not feel connected to a portrait until they are satisfactory.

I do wish I had started working seriously on this journey years ago but I was young and stupid enough to believe you were born an artist, sculptor, doctor, musician, scientist, lawyer. Now, I know for most it is a process. One of the best things about having taken years to draw, lead my life, have a family, live through losses and successes, is that now I get to jump in.