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I don’t remember the first time I created art. I did many crafts as a child with my grandmothers and was always drawing and mailing pictures to my great grandmother. Coming from an artistically inclined family I was ecstatic to take my first art class in the 7th grade. I continued taking art classes through high school, sometimes taking two at a time. I participated in shows in high school and even sold pieces. I went to UC Santa Cruz with the intention of studying Marine Biology. My mother told me that she thought I had a talent and that it would be a shame not to pursue it. Then I took a drawing class and decided that the only major for me was art. I was chosen to show in the juried NOVA show my senior year and showed in another group show before I had my first solo show.
I moved to San Francisco where I earned my Master’s of Arts in Education. I currently teach art at the high school level. Since moving to San Francisco I have had several solo shows in coffee shops and show frequently in City Art Gallery.
Unlike other artists I know what my paintings will look like before I even start to paint. My process begins with a vision. I am usually doing some non-art related task when I began to see pictures in my head. I sort through the myriad of pictures and ideas until I find one that sticks. I often think about it for a long time before I put it down on canvas. It can take me as long as six months to finish a painting, but all along I know what it will look like in the end.
A common theme expressed throughout my oil paintings is bridging. The bridge is a symbol of connecting two worlds and creating a passage between them. Be this the spiritual and physical worlds or the metaphysical and physical worlds. Bridges help close the gap between the two: allowing for a flow of knowledge to pass over to enable us to better understand our world. In a way, painting itself is a bridge to an unseen world.
Another theme illustrated in my work is humans’ impact on the environment. Humans conquer and tame the landscape creating geometric patterns of the build environment that contrasts the lyrical forms and shapes of nature.
Most of my paintings pay homage to nature, her vibrant colors and glorious creatures. Her shapes are not only complex but, delicate. As an artist I am merely observing nature, trying to better understand the world around me.
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