Born and raised in Vancouver, BC. I was blessed with amazing influences to guide me. My artistic grandmother and nurturing mother were two of those key influences. I showed my creativity from very early in my childhood and I remember loving the collection of colours that fell into a pile after sharpening my pencil crayons. This perhaps explains my fascination with and playful use of colour in my paintings. Throughout my youth and into my twenties I experimented in many genres of art from calligraphy to making jewelry and was never without something in my hands.
Shortly after marrying my husband in 1990 we packed up and moved to a small village we had never heard of called Naramata, in British Columbia. I was able to be a “stay at home mom” for the first years of our two children’s lives, I converted the garage into “The Country Cottage” and sold my own “crafts”, consisting of the various art projects I was exploring at the time and selling over 30 other artist’s work as well. In 2003 I opened what at the time was a dream business of mine, A Country Hideaway Bed and Breakfast, which tied nicely into my creativity! I felt I was actually “living the dream”!
Life continued along for a while that way (20 years), then… a broken marriage, children grown and the death of both parents; these were very tough, emotional times.
One thing I did to help myself emerge from the twists and turns of life was to use a part of my inheritance to honour my parents and especially my mother who gave so much in raising me. I wanted her to know that all her hard work and sacrifice were worth it and had had a profound effect on me.
And that is when my real artistic journey began...I arranged painting lessons from a dynamic, local artist named Yvonne Goldberg who encouraged me, as my mom always did, and she believed, again as my mom did, that I had a gift. My mom had always said that “you must use your talents!” This became my foundation and my vision…to develop and “use” my talents and paint for a living!
It is a journey and I am on my way!
I have always painted in acrylics on both paper and canvas and mostly love to paint bright and lively landscapes! I also enjoy other subject matter, from cars to florals.
In 2018, I was fortunate to have an aligning of stars in many ways and was able to take a year sabbatical to pursue my love of painting and travel with my partner. Travelling to many countries including France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal as well as Israel, Malta, and, a trans-Canada discovery by RV.
I was able to retire in September, 2020, from my recreation job in a care facility, and with the help of my partner (who also believes I have a gift) I am now more focused and determined.
We have continued to travel …South East Asia and the last two years throughout BC. We have set up my gallery and studio. I completed my Mini Memory series of 100, 4”x 4” paintings of scenes from across Canada and my second project #100shoesformentalhealth in which I donated a portion of each painting sold to mental health. Meanwhile I have built relationships with local wineries and other businesses and packed up my work to markets and shows.
So, it is my dream to continue with these endeavors with my partner by my side, to grow as an artist and to use my talents to my fullest… as my mother wished!