About Me

I began working as a librarian at UC Berkeley in 1962, retired in the early 1990s, began taking art workshops and classes in the San Francisco Bay Area, and got hooked. I joined a few art groups which started a process of self- teaching and learning from fellow artists.

 

My preferred medium has always been oil painting. Initially, it took courage to participate in juried and invitational group exhibits, but that too was a learning experience. I have won various awards and honors over the years. Group memberships have included the Marin Society of Artists, the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, and San Francisco Women Artists. I can be seen in art shows mostly in Marin County, California, including Marin Open Studios and the Marin County Fair Fine Arts Exhibit most years. Sadly, the fun Marin Art Festival formerly held at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael closed down some years ago.

 

I am fascinated by abstraction, three-dimensionality, motion, luminescence, color, shadows and reflection; I am awed by water, a favorite subject of mine. Many of my works have been inspired by trips to the Oregon coast. Subjects I choose often cannot be done on the spot (as in the middle of a stream), so I take photos of sources that inspire me. The outdoors anywhere is my “studio”. I prefer oil painting because one can work on effects more freely in the moment and over time until something of impact is achieved. I work on a piece until I surprise myself, hoping to draw others into what I have finally seen and tried to depict.

 

Seeing becomes more acute when focus lasts hours, I count on that acuteness. One can start out with a goal, but most often for me, it changes as the subject becomes more and more complex and elusive. Mostly I go off on a tangent, departing from the original. For some painters, perhaps most of us, the painting toward which we struggle is not what we end up with, there is often a serendipitous element in art, no matter what the subject.

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SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS

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Art Show International Gallery (2022)  Through a Looking Glass Talent Prize Award

 

Light, Space & Time (2022)  Tread Softly, Special Recognition Award

 

Marun Society of Artists (2022)  Pegasus, Honorable Mention

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Light, Space and time (2022)  Chinese Garden, Special Merit Award

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MSA Small Wonders (2021)  Summer Snow, People’s Choice 

 

MSA 93d Annual Member Show (2021)   Algae, Honorable Mention

 

MSA Visible Invisible (2021)   Sun Figments, Honorable Mention

 

MSA Left Coast (2021)   China Camp Cove, Honorable Mention

 

Light, Space & Time (2020)  Sunflowers, Special Recognition Award

 

Light, Space & Time (2020) Inverse Mirror, Special Recognition Award

 

Light, Space & Time (2020)  Sandbar, Special Recognition Award

 

Light, Space & Time (2019)  Windspill, Special Recognition Award; Maelstrom, Third Place 

 

Napa County Fair (2019)  Ancient Figures, Special Recognition Award  

 

Napa Expo 2018  Walking on water, Award of Merit  

 

Marin County Fair (2018)  Incoming Tide, Special Recognition Award

 

Marin Society of Artists  (2017)  Clouds, First Place

 

Marin Society of Artists Introspection (2016)  Flowers, Honorable Mention

 

Light, Space & Time (2015) Green Beach, Special Recognition Award

 

MMOCA (2013)  Surreal Evening, Honorable Mention

 

SFWA (2013)  Out of the Woods, Award of Merit

 

MMOCA (2013)  Walking on Water, Honorable Mention

 

Napa State Fair (2012)  Catching Light, Honorable Mention

 

SFWA (2009)  Demeter, Award of Merit

 

SFWA  (2008)  Autumn Transition, Award of Merit

 

NLAPW Biennial 2008, Alexandria, VA  Midtide, Honorable mention

 

San  Francisco Women Artists (2007)  Convergence, Award of Excellence

 

San  Francisco Women Artists (2007)  Marshall Ridge Sunset, Award of Excellence

 

Marin Society of Artists (2007) Tomales Afternoon, First Place

 

Marin Society of Artists (2007) Loved Pig, Honorable Mention

 

Marin Society of Artists (2006) Bear Valley Rain, Award of Merit