Biographical Notes
 

I was born in New York, New York to a figurative painter and stage actress. We moved to Los Angeles when I was young, and I often accompanied my father to the UCLA  art department where I wandered the halls outside the figure drawing classes and wondered at the giant male models.  I perused the still life set ups and sculptured heads, but my strongest impressions came from watching my father paint my mother.  Her physical beauty entranced me as a child and influenced my aesthetic sensibility. I climbed the avocado trees in the grove we lived.  Every day, I  studied their unique structures for access and hoisted myself to the highest limbs.  I was Sheena, Queen of the Jungle in my mind with a  kitchen knife in my jeans ready for any adventure. When I was eleven, my muse became Charlton Heston, whose angular face and heroic body captivated my imagination.  I drew him over and over again as I had the horses many girls fixate on-- and I watched him move through his epic movies countless times.

When I was fourteen, our family left California for Hawaii.  After the cool sophistication and glitz of Los Angeles, Oahu was a culture shock. I developed an active inner life to cope with the changes and graduated from Punahou School where I was a recipient of the Hallmark Scholastic Art Award. I then pursued a Fine Arts degree at Scripps College in Claremont, California however, I longed for the natural beauty of the islands and finished my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. 
 

There, the vibrant color and intense light influenced my sense of color and I admired the probing virtuosity of master draftsmen like Toulouse Lautrec and Edgar Degas. I believed that the mastery of the human form was the undergirding of great art and, drawing the human face a deep exploration of the human condition.  Drawing live models has continued to be a mainstay of life as an artist.. I also enjoy working along side  other artists who appreciate figure drawing;  lt becomes a supportive endeavor in a highly solitary pursuit.
 

As a young art graduate, I got a job at the Honolulu Zoo, developing educational and exhibit materials. Animals were a natural departure from the human figure and drawing them intensely satisfying.  Under two museum grants ,  I developed a relief sculpture “Evolution of an Island” and illustrated an environmental studies curriculum for the Honolulu Zoo. I also became a member of Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church on Oahu and worked on the design of liturgical vestments and biblical illustrations.

In 1985, marriage led me to the island of Maui where we  still have a home in rural Olinda.  I chaired the life-drawing department of Hui Noeau Art Center and joined Viewpoints Gallery  where I exhibited in individual and group shows. Maui is a mecca for artists and visitors from around the world;  my work is now in private collections across the United States and Europe.
 

Hawaii was my only home for 30 years, but the special needs of my son who has autism lied me to La Crosse Wisconsin.  The move to a place with a harsh winter climate that could last six months of the year was a difficult adjustment and encouraged me to revisit intaglio printmaking which did not require natural light.  I found carving and etching into copper plates a fulfilling process after oil painting.

My printmaking emphasized   line and tonal depth which spoke to me. I was also able to express my deep connection to Hawaii in in a new way.
 

In 2016 I began collaborative, healing art experiences with my son, Daniel.  His non-verbal autism had made him vulnerable to exploitation and trauma and art became a path forward. Representation was secondary to expressive movement, color, texture and design -- because these could be explored without reliance on his fine motor abilities  This has led to a new way of seeing and being.