I started creating art when I was little. My first memory of drawing was when I wanted to color in a Snow-White coloring book at my grandmother’s house, but all the pages were colored in already. My father suggested I draw my own coloring book. So, I did. I drew out some of the pages. I still have the “book” I made. In school I took every art class they offered, from ceramics to drawing, to commercial design and oil painting. Oil painting was what I was most interested in as I got older.

I have always been amazed with the old masters and how they created portraits so life-like, yet painterly. My parents saw how immersed I was in painting and after signing me up for a local art class, they purchased all the supplies I needed for home. I painted many paintings inspired by the Phantom of the Opera which was very popular back then. I loved the idea of incorporating gothic romantic ideas into my art.

Once I got married and had a child, real life caught up with me and I put aside the oil paints for a time. But I always wanted to do something artistic in my life and once I connected with other artists on social media in 2014, that’s when I knew the art world was calling me back. Since then, I have exhibited in group shows since 2016, showing my work nationwide, as well as Europe.

My passion has always been in painting portraits and in 2020 during the pandemic, I was able to take an online course to become more proficient. This helped me a great deal and each year I feel my technique improving. My goal is to tell an enchanting story in my paintings. I am inspired by nature, songs, fairy tales, and the idyllic orchards of my hometown. I begin every painting in an impressionistic approach to create a sense of dreamy realism, a place to escape to. My favorite artists are Waterhouse, Rossetti, Leighton, and Sargent. A few years ago, I had the honor of seeing some of Sargent’s greatest works in person at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Mass.

I paint in my home studio surrounded by the bird-song of my two parakeets and in the company of my two sweet little guinea pigs. My family and friends are my biggest supporters and they inspire me every day to be true to myself. I look forward to continuing on my artistic journey and I am excited about what the future will bring!