PAINTING IS

Joy of color, movement, rhythm

Terror of blank paper or "I’ve gone too far &ruined it!"

Adventures – "Now what!" And "So now how do I make this work?"

Delight of pushing into new territories or "Okay, I should stop now" – and I do.

These things, the physical act of painting and learning to see both what is within myself and what is in the world around me, to discover and respond to it all makes me want to paint more and more. It may not change the world, but I know it changes me. I began painting in the mid ‘70s with watercolor and oil. Sometime in the mid ‘90s I began to switch to acrylics. I found the newer watermedia incorporated some of what I liked best from both media---the texture and transparency. I also discovered the technology had changed acrylic paint from the thick toothpaste like globs I remembered. Contemporary acrylics can be transparent or opaque, thick or thin, and it offers its own technical challenges— drying too fast when I dither or paint plein aire, but has encouraged me to experiment with new ideas and forms.

 

The same is true of YUPO, a synthetic paper that’s been in use for about 15 years. Its distinctive qualities make me think and work in all sorts of in fresh ways and has led to in many new directions. Of course at the same time I am loathe to give up favorite traditional materials and techniques. Regardless of the medium I learn from other artists. To discover how they think, to try a different technique, to understand how they see—this is a challenge and a joy. I want to use that understanding but make it fit my own needs. I began wanting to paint like this "paint-saint" or that, but only became truly satisfied with the work when I began make it my own. The materials seem so basic. Water, pigment, paper and brush-- maybe a little bit more. There are endless possibilities, whether I work representationally, abstractly, follow a theme or paint in series, focus on the painting surface, use collage bits and old photos. I want always to discover something new to me and share it with the viewer.

PAINTING IS

Seldom boring

Always a challenge

Forever a part of me

Never done.
 

CURRENT GALLERY AFFILIATON
Wildflour Restaurant and Bakery, Roanoke, VA
Gallery Of Mountain Secrets, Monterey, VA
Pea Island Gallery, Salvo, NC
Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center, Clifton Forge,

SELECTED EXHIBITS, OUTDOOR AND JURIED SHOWS
Gallery 108, Roanoke, 2010
This Century Gallery, Williamsburg VA 2010
Two Person Exhibit, Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center, Clifton Forge, VA (1990,2009)
Baltimore Watercolor Society- Mid Atlantic Watercolor Exhibit, 2008, Baltimore, MD
     (Skip Lawrence, Juror, Award, Signature Membership)
Virginia Watercolor Society: 1985 (Miles Batt, Juror), 1989 (Marbury Hill Brown, Juror),
     2002,(Ray Kass, Juror, Signature Status, Award), 2003 (Alex Powers, Juror, Award,)
     2005 (Carole Barnes, Juror), 2006 (Skip Lawrence, Juror),
     2007 (Christopher Schink, Juror)
     2008 (Donna Watson, Juror, Pat Lawson Memorial Award-(First Place)
Southern Watercolor Society Exhibit 2006 (George James, Juror)
Bath County Art Show, Warm Springs, VA 1981-91(award 87, 89), 1998-2009,
Central Virginia Watercolor Guild Charlottesville, VA, 2002, (Gil Cohen, Juror, Award)
Lynchburg Art Show, Lynchburg, VA 2004-2009
     (award 2006, selected for judges fence 2007, 08, 09)
Art on the Asphalt, Roanoke, VA (invitational) 2004-06, ‘08
Sidewalk Art Show, Roanoke, VA 1995-present
Art in The Alley, Salem, VA 2002 (invitational)
Roanoke College Biennial 2000 (Jerry Bannan, Juror)
Fall Foliage Festival, Waynesboro, several years
Studio School Art Shows 1998-present
Staunton Outdoor Art Show 1990-2001, Awards of Merit, Award of Distinction 1995-98
An Occasion for the Arts and Affair in the Square, Williamsburg, VA multiple years (juried)
West Virginia Tri State Watercolor Exhibit (Z.L. Feng, Fred Leach, jurors) 1996
Northeast Watercolor Society, Palatine NY (juried)
Faber Birren Color Award Show, Stamford CT (juried) 1988
Mississippi Watercolor Society 1996 (M. Douglas Watson, Juror)
Ivy Gallery, Ventures in Creativity II, Charlottesville, VA 1987
National Organization of Women, Women’s Week Exhibit, Blacksburg, VA 1979- Best In Show, VPI &SU 1986-90

STUDIED WITH
Lyndall Mason, Louise Cadillac, Vera Dickerson, Jane Winders Frank, Dickerson, Mark Shepard, Michael Farrar, Carole Brown, Carrie Burns, Gerald Brommer, Fran Larsen,
30 years worth of gallery installations for a wide range of artists
21 years of residency artists in the Alleghany County and Covington City Schools

BIOGRAPHY
Executive Director/Curator, Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center, Clifton Forge, VA, ’89-present.
Executive Director/Curator, Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley, Pulaski VA 1978-1989
Virginia Commission for the Arts Grant Review Panels. (General Operating Support, Artist in Education)
Radford College, MS in Art Education 1978
Longwood College, BS English 1970

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