Being born in the great north of Alaska, saturated since birth in its grandiose natural beauty, created a solitary artist with a love for people and a fascination with the untamed beauty in the everyday. Portraits were her first passion. Adventures in life brought her to the Puget Sound with only pencil and paper for practice. She traded with the Ethiopian operator of a parking garage graphite portraits of his gorgeous family for a good parking space. She learned some of the best art experiences aren't always contests or juried shows but the inspiration of everyday, real life magic! What was supposed to be an Argentine tango workshop turned into her first oil painting lesson. It was a gift that captured her spirit and demanded she follow. A path that eventually brought her to her home now in New Mexico, a land of enchantment and endless inspirational light. Her style is Old-Master-ish with a lot of layers — like life. She loves using traditional materials from crushed pearls and lapis lazuli to a favorite raw umber tube paint — whatever the painting asks. While experimenting with still life, landscape, and genre painting she came to the realization that every painting is a portrait, especially of the self, and every unique feature and beautiful detail demands to be respected, amplified, and paid homage. So she paints!