I grew up Guthrie Center, a small town in rural central Iowa. After attending Drake University, and then graduating from the University of Iowa (BFA in Design, with minors—Drawing, Painting, Ceramics) in 1977, I made my way to Austin, TX and made a career as a graphic designer, art director and illustrator.
My imaginative landscapes come from my love of growing up in GC, and having the opportunity to spend many days on my Aunt and Uncle's farm—days full of freedom to explore the land with my cousins. The Iowa countryside evokes a tranquil and simpler time for me. West Texas is also a draw as the landscapes are instrumental to my vision of wide open spaces that harken back to the peaceful impact those images conjure.
During pandemic times, being close to home has provided inspiration and beauty—found completely in my own back yard. Sky scapes, clouds, horizons, botanicals.
My abstract creations are inspired mainly by shapes and patterns found in nature. Based on adding and subtracting color, layering and glazing, scratching and sanding, the joy and excitement of the creative process is expressed in colorful, inventive techniques using acrylics, watercolor, graphite, colored pencil, crayon and marker on a variety of substrates.
One illustrative style for my pet portraits developed through my career as a graphic designer. The pets are hand-sketched using a photo as reference. That drawing is scanned into Adobe Illustrator where the refined shapes are filled with flat colors to create a “paint-by-number”
look—but always contain a clever or humorous twist. Other techniques for pet portraits are acrylic painting, colored pencil, and graphite.
