I paint to capture a time and place in my life, and hopefully it will remind others of a time and place in their life. Painting helps me illustrate the feelings I’m having at a given moment. Whether it is the cities I love, the countryside of my youth, the lake, or good times with my family, I can paint the darkest darks, the lightest lights, capture those scenes, and bring them to life forever. I hope you enjoy my stories in paint.

I was born in Clinton, Missouri, a small town in the Midwest, where I grew up. As a child, I spent a lot of time outside playing. I remember my favorite place was sitting in the middle of a cherry tree, just looking out at my world. When we moved away from that house, Daddy promised he’d plant a cherry tree for me. To be an artist, I believe you have to take your mind to that favorite place and just look at your world. When I took art classes in high school, I met Mr. Roddy, my teacher, who marched to a little different beat. He always encouraged us to view what we could see. One day in art class, I remember he painted a streak of gray across my perfect blue sky, and said, “The sky is not always blue.” Over the years, I have learned that the world holds fascination and beauty, even in what some people would consider not beautiful.
I live in a mid-west community named Lee’s Summit, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. All of my children are now grown, and I am privileged to also have five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. I spent most of my life teaching children from ages 5 months to 23 years old. I always found the beauty in each and every one of them.

Now, I look for beauty in the objects I choose to paint, not just in what is traditionally considered beautiful. People say that I have talent; however, I believe talent is mostly a love of the challenging painting and the commitment to practice! Everyone is an amateur when they begin.