Briefly tell me a little bit about yourself ?
Art is an integral part of my life, "Art calms me and excites me. I get up earlier and stay up later. Everything I do is enhanced by my passion to paint!" With a corporate background in my past but now devoted to art full time, I have found that, comparatively, being an artist is a blessed way to live. Being an artist makes me happy and I hope my paintings will make others happy too! I embrace a colourful and expressionistic painting style and am dedicated to discovering a variety of mediums. The ‘Peaks and Valleys’ collection is painted with inks (alcohol and acryilic) on Yupo paper. This combination is exquisitely vibrant. The medium also supports the abstract factor I seek in my work. As a proud Calgarian I interpret the prairies, foothills, mountains, and foliage of this region in my paintings.
What is it that you love about Calgary and Southern Alberta? How does the city influence your art?
There are so many things I love about being an artist in Calgary. starting with the abundance of nature within the city itself - parks, rivers and neighbourhood gardens. I don’t need to go far to find inspiration. And then there is the bounty of nature - mountains to the West, prairies to the East and upward to the magnificent skies! In addition to enjoying Calgary's living landscape, I am also fascinated by Calgary's past. I love to imagine what it would have been like to live and travel in this area hundreds of years ago.
What inspires you to create?
Anything in my range of vision can become a source of inspiration, from the shapes clouds, the colours of a flower garden or the perspective lines of a road. Capturing objects in movement on a windy day in the garden is very exciting! I’m also fascinated by the shapes of prairie fields and the off setting mountains - they are like a million puzzles waiting for me to solve.
Do you prefer to paint en plein air or in the studio? Where do you paint/work?
My greatest inspiration comes from being out in nature. I sketch and paint plein air. I love to paint in my studio at home as well.