Art and music have played an integral part in my identity since childhood. I studied classical piano and stemming from this foundation, I am self-taught in folk guitar, an instrument I enjoy to this day.

When I was ten years old, my devoted elementary school teacher, Mrs. Mackintosh, introduced me to calligraphy, a disciplined art that I continued to pursue and develop from that time for almost thirty years. My high school art teacher, Leonard Sherman, opened my eyes to art history and to colour. During my undergraduate studies at McGill University in the 1970s, Gentile Tondino RCA showed me the fundamentals of drawing and encouraged my interest in painting. To these mentors, I am most grateful.

I was fascinated with pottery making on the wheel for a brief period, after which time I shared my knowledge of techniques in tie-dying, macrame, leatherwork, mask making, and soapstone sculpture with underprivileged adolescents.

My active engagement in painting took hold in my mid-forties. Although the twenty years preceding this time were stagnant in my painting productivity, they were not wasted. Those years of incubating creativity and of constant observation brought me to the present when the dormant roots for my passion for painting sprouted again. I have received guidance, encouragement, and discipline from Joanna Bayles, Amy Lee, Leslie Coppold RCA, and Rita Briansky.

Experiences of summer seasons in the Laurentians northwest of Montreal have always been a constant source of motivation and passion behind my canvases. Stemming from these favourable memories comes my feeling of freedom when being outdoors. In fact I am now a full time resident in my beloved Laurentians.

Frequently, trees and water are present in my compositions. I appreciate nature in its chaos and constant state of motion. Yet, there is an air of tranquility in many of my canvases. Nature, therefore, in its seasonal dress, constitutes the principal theme and inspiration behind my main body of work. The interpretation of light through the use of colour variations, as well as my quick, carefree, and individually dabbed brush strokes, delineate my perspective of nature. Painting ‘en plein air’ has always preferred for the most basic of observational reasons, but with advancing years that is now rarely possible; my photos have replaced the ‘on the spot’ experience.

I am drawn to natural, sensual curves. Still life compositions include the roundness of fruits, the lingering sway of lines, and the fullness of spaces that distinguish a bowl, plate or a delicate porcelain coffee pot. The burst of colour stemming from a vased arrangement of flowers and the richness of its foliage are what propel my desire to capture these images with paint application. My canvases which depict interior spaces are meant to draw the viewer into the room, to find a relaxing place to rest the eye and to feel a sense of welcome.

The quick pace at which I work makes the use of acrylic a perfect medium. I believe in the evolutionary process, and trust the challenges that confront me with each fresh canvas.

For many years as a preschool teacher, I witnessed my precious students discovering their ability to control the act of creation, the joy of applying paint to paper for the first time, a mesmerizing sensory experience in which I myself still keep indulging. In doing so, I continuously derive deep satisfaction each and every time.