Current student at Place des Arts (2024/2025 season)
Biography
Much of my learning about art has been informal, resulting from my own explorations. However, I also have some formal training, beginning with Fine Art and Commercial Art in high school.
I have a Design Arts Diploma from Grant MacEwan Community College in Edmonton (1978) and a Bachelor of Interior Design from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg (1986), both of which included classes in drawing and rendering.
I pursued further studies with Continuing Education classes and two painting courses in France of two and a half weeks duration. Since retiring, I have had more time to pursue my passions, such as art.
My connection to Place des Arts has been through classes in Weaving and Pottery. I find that each creative endeavor helps to enrich the others.
Artist Statement
I have been dabbling in art since I was a child and as a teenager, I would drag my easel around the neighborhood and sketch the fields and barns. I enjoy exploring different mediums, including oils, watercolours, acrylics, and pen and ink.
I discovered coloured pencils more than forty years ago and they have become one of my favorite mediums because I am able to blend the colours and create forms. I layer the colours on top of each other, building them up, adding texture, shadows and highlights until I achieve the image I am hoping to create.
It’s important for me to be engaged with and passionate about the subject I am portraying. I often like to produce images from nature, particularly flowers.
This pair of cats, Pandora and Lexia, came into my life more than a year ago. They have developed from being fearful and anxious to ruling the household. I am attempting to display the close bond they have with each other, and the special place they have for me.