Biography

I hope that what I feel about my subject finds its way into my work, whether I visually represent objects, ideas, or abstractions. The act of painting, if it is personally rewarding to me, makes the painting successful whether or not anyone else ever sees it. And I hope that whoever might see the finished painting will feel the impact of what I invested in it of myself — even if whatever it evokes in them may not match my original intent.

I received my BFA in painting in 1968 and then completed all of my work toward a master’s degree in painting. For several years, I enjoyed the life of an artist and potter in Colorado. I proposed and taught the first county-sponsored adult education classes offered in the mountain community of Evergreen, and I exhibited my work in galleries, juried exhibits, and invitational shows.

After life-changing events and many more years in a successful career as a technical writer in Denver and Seattle, I spent six weeks in Spain. I found everything I saw in Spain to be inspiring, but the most influential were the art museums and Gaudi architecture in Barcelona, the Prado Museum in Madrid, and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. This immersion in art reawakened my desire to paint.

I decided on watercolor as my medium — one not taught at the university level when I attended — and set out to learn it 9 years ago. My watercolors do not have the traditional loose look that people expect of watercolor, and that is intentional. Mine is a labor-intense approach that defies the unruly nature of the medium.

EDUCATION

University of Denver: BFA in Painting: Art courses included graphic design, drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, pottery, and art history.

University of Denver: Completed all courses toward an MFA in Painting

Studies at the University of Denver included classes with:

Vance Kirkland (oils and acrylics)
Mel Strawn (acrylics)
John Norman (drawing)
John Billmeyer (etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint, and woodcut)
Roger Kotoske (drawing and art history)
Reed McIntyre (sculpture)
Maynard Tischler (stoneware, porcelain, and raku)

Colorado Institute of Art: Advanced Drawing

Jefferson County Schools, Colorado: Certificate in Advertising Design

Additional Classes and Workshops:

Elizabeth Kincaid (watercolor)
Bob Burridge (acrylics)
Jan Hart (Watercolor)
William Hewson (watercolor)
Ron Ranson (watercolor)
Kay Barnes (watercolor)
Susie Short (watercolor)
Milo Duke (watercolor)
Daniel Rhodes (stoneware)
Ken Turner (stoneware and raku)
Austin Delaney (Jungian workshop in Media Interaction)

EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDS

Paintings and ceramics in various invitational and juried exhibits, including but not limited to:

Denver Art Museum, Annual Metropolitan Exhibition, 3 years (oil painting, acrylic paintings)
Friends of Contemporary Art exhibit, Denver, Colorado (painting)
Colorado Council on Arts and Humanities, invitational exhibit (stoneware drum)
Colorado Artist Craftsmen Annual, Boulder, Colorado (stoneware drum)
Evergreen Artists Annual Exhibit, Evergreen, Colorado: Award, 2nd Place in Contemporary Painting category
Evergreen Art Show, Evergreen, Colorado: Award, 1st Place in Ceramics
La Tienda Gallery; Tlaquepaque, Sedona, Arizona
Gallery E; Evergreen, Colorado
Colorado Intercollegiate Art Show, Pueblo, Colorado: Permanent Pigments Award
Edmonds Art Festival juried exhibit, Edmonds, Washington

TEACHING

Foothills Art Center in Golden, Colorado: Courses in painting and pottery
Jefferson County, Colorado: Adult-education classes in stoneware, raku, and kiln building
Private instruction: Painting
University of Denver: Course in Art Appreciation
Askloup, Incorporated: Organized and coordinated a series of workshops in media interaction, including group painting, percussion, dance, and projective fantasy techniques
Kilewa Festival, Baha, California: Planned and facilitated activities in drawing, percussion, and sculpture
Association of Humanistic Psychology, Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado: Coordinated seminar in creativity