Tell us about your background. Where did you grow up? Your family?
I was born in Texas, but my family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when I was very young. The abundance of cultural and performing arts meant that my sisters and I enjoyed endless opportunities to experience, observe, and learn from an early age. My mother, especially, deeply valued maker’s art in any medium really as she appreciated the design process as well as beautiful and technically interesting pieces. Our home was a collection that reflected my parents’ deep admiration for both the purposeful and the exquisite, as well as their passion to support local artisans, an allure and intrigue I’ve carried with me throughout my life.
How would you say your background influenced your approach to painting? And at what age did you become curious about art?
My appreciation for painting developed further while preparing 19th-century artworks for auction catalogues. While in college earning a BA in art history, I served as a docent at the Arizona State Museum. Following a move to Dallas, I worked in galleries and museums and was inspired to pursue all things ‘interiors’ earning a second degree in Interior Architecture and Commercial Space Planning.
What inspires you, and how do you stay inspired?
For me, a blank canvas offers inspiration and a (sometimes) daunting challenge for me to problem-solve! Inspiration might come from just getting out and about or by listening to great music. What constantly amazes me are the new colors I see, courtesy of nature, such as a purply/blue sky that can’t be humanly duplicated. However, my most enduring and magical influences come from being a mom to my three sons.
How has this shaped your artistic philosophy?
My paintings draw from childhood memories and experiences shaped by my exposure to not only the rich culture of Asian influences at home and in the San Francisco Bay Area, but by my mom’s profound encouragement to my sisters and me to tag along to the artist’s studios she visited. My mom showed me that you can live a life full of color, or a life of beige; I’ve chosen color!
What artists have had the biggest influence on your work?
I have always liked the early abstract expressionists where shapes and color, or the absence of, represent the story. I gravitate to the everlasting influences of The Bauhaus movement where art, craft and technology exist side by side; The Arts and Crafts style because of its obvious nod to Japanese design as well as to Mid-century modern architecture and design.
What is your artistic philosophy?
Most everything can be perceived as art as it really comes down to perspective; the way I interpret ideas, feelings and emotions, that when combined, offer a visual diary of my life.
What is your favorite traveling experience?
I have loved being able to visit quite a few of hundreds year old art and architecture around the world and am in constant awe that so much of it still stands!
One of my favorite trips, however, was taking our (then) young kids to Alaska, and seeing the sheer happiness when they saw the massive glaciers, enormous whales up close, and the gigantic ship we were about to board!
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be?
I would like to have studied child psychiatry because I am fascinated by early childhood experiences and education, and how these help to shape so much of an individual’s thinking. I have worked in the “helping biz” as an educational therapist assisting students and families navigate the often confusing educational system for many years, but I am winding down my career. I never get tired of seeing a student when they finally “get it”.
What do you most enjoy doing when you are not painting?
I love to spend time with Ronnie who is my biggest cheerleader and support. My little 13 y/o Havanese and I tolerate each other and sometimes he even has a likeable personality. I love going to live music venues, eating ethnic foods, and of course, spending time with my favorite people—my three boys.
