In 1966 I was a high school sophomore and decided I wanted to start painting, so I nailed together some 2X4s, stretched some canvas over them and nailed it to the back of the frame, primed it with gesso, and started to work painting my very first work of art with oil paint, linseed oil and turpentine! I was hooked after that and wanted to paint more and more. It wasn't until 1990 that I discovered fast drying acrylic paints and how much easier to work with it was. My husband has always encouraged me to paint the things I love and to think of myself as an artist.
I love painting and my favorite works show life under the sea in the coral reefs and on the beaches as well as waves, beaches, sea shells and sand dunes. I try to paint every day, a variety of subjects, using different mediums such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolors and pastels. I really enjoy a challenge, and learning new things.
My dream is to one day open my own art gallery or to share a co-op gallery with other artists... we could have our artwork for sale in the front with a studio in back of our area and people who come into the gallery could come into the area where we're working to watch us paint. I think that would be such a neat thing to do because people love to watch artists at work.
The story behind these paintings below is kinda funny. A couple of years ago, we were having some work done in our yard. They had torn out some railroad ties that had rotted and were in the construction process of building a stone retaining wall to replace the old one. I had to go to the store in the middle of the night, pitch dark as they had disconnected the landscaping lights and I could not see anything. I walked out to the car and stepped down on the stair but it wasn't there. They had torn the whole staircase out and I fell 5 ft. into a huge hole and onto the driveway. I sprained my ankle very badly and laid there for a while before someone heard my cries for help. A week later, my husband, daughter, and her friend and I drove down to Destin Beach, Florida for a week long vacation at the beach. Of course I couldn't walk and was wearing a big black boot and on crutches so I couldn't get down to the water. My daughter and her friend would carry me down the long stairs in a makeshift sling, get me situated on a blanket and I sat there and painted my beloved ocean, sky and beach. It was gorgeous because the clouds filling the sky were the aftermath of a hurricane down in Mexico. I was able to get in the pool and float around after we would go back to the house, but couldn't get into the surf as I longed to do. When we got home I was so disappointed that I couldn't get in the water and I missed my ocean so much that I painted three big waves and hung them on my bedroom walls so that the last thing I see at night is those waves and I dream of surfing, snorkeling and diving into the waves when I go to sleep!
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