Artist's Statement
The Hudson Valley has touched my heart, igniting within me an excitement to share how its incredible beauty makes me feel. I've yearned to share my elation when I have stood upon a mountain, wind whipping through my hair or felt the spray of a waterfall upon my face on a late summer's afternoon. Through my paintings, I seek to convey these feelings.

An avid nature-lover, I found great joy hiking and photographing the nooks and crannies of the Hudson Valley, until my life changed – literally overnight. Diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, the world was suddenly a very different and terrifying place for me. Seeking solace from the fears that surrounded me, I began to paint – not the fears inside me, but my joy for the landscape I so loved. Flowing from some deep-seated force within me, out it poured – color, light, and energy – not mourning what I'd lost, but celebrating the gift I'd been given.

Trained as a graphic designer, I stared in awe at what I had created. There on the paper before me lay a landscape so completely alive with what I felt within my heart. My unique style, with its energetic strokes and vivid color, was born in that instant. I began to create a series of paintings of the Hudson Valley. Impressionistic in nature, my paintings embody the energy of life, my joy of being here to experience a particular moment… the golden light of a sunset on the river; the icy reflections in a pond on a winter's day or a "blue-sky, see-forever" vista from a mountaintop.

Suddenly, I saw beyond what I had painted – I had found a way to help inspire women in similar situations. To let them know that advanced breast cancer isn't the end. It can be a new beginning. I began to hear how inspired my fellow breast cancer survivors were by my paintings and my words. How my refusal to be brought down by this dreaded disease filled their hearts with hope and courage too. I couldn't ask to hear a more wonderful thing. To let them know they are always in my heart, I've hidden within each painting a tiny pink breast cancer survivor ribbon. With this gesture, much loved by fellow breast cancer survivors, I hope to spread the message that I'm painting for every woman who walks a similar path. Sharing my joy of life with each one of them.

Working in either oil pastels or watercolor crayon on black paper, I begin many of my paintings en plein aire, taking accompanying photos for finishing the artwork in my Poughkeepsie art studio. My paintings are artistic interpretations of moments I have experienced in the beautiful Hudson Valley where I have lived much of my life. With lively strokes and vivid color, I share my interpretations of this lovely region. Nature speaks to me with passion, and I in turn, share the words I hear.

I have always loved to draw and take photographs, and enjoyed an education at the High School of Art and Design in New York City, as well as Parson's School of Design where I graduated with a BFA. I have a long history with professional graphic design; however, my passions lie in drawing, painting and nature photography.

I'm a member of the Oil Pastel Society, the Dutchess County Arts Council, ASK – the Arts Society of Kingston, NYPAP – New York Plein Air Painters, and the Barrett Art Center. Living in Poughkeepsie, NY, I paint to win the battle with the fierce beast that resides within me and threatens to take all from me. And I am winning.