Artist / Visual Junkie

“The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.”
     
               - Hans Christian Anderson

I like to paint ordinary things. Sometimes those things are found in nature; sometimes they are man-made. The systematic feathers in a bird’s wing or the common folds of leather on a worn out pair of shoes, beg to be studied and rendered.  In the process of being painted, these ordinary objects begin to take on a personality or tell a story.  This happens mysteriously while I'm paying attention to the details, and it always surprises me.  

When a viewer brings his or her own associations, memories, and emotions to the image, there is opportunity for an intimate connection to form. That intimacy is magical.
 

Education

School of the Art Institute of Chicago, MFA
University of New Orleans, BFA

Book Illustrations

The House That Crack Built
by Clark Taylor, Chronicle Books
Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 1992
American Institute of Graphic Art Award
American Bookseller "Pick of the List"
ALA Best Book for Reluctant Readers
ALA Best Book for Young Readers
Bookbuilders West 1993 Best Children's Trade Book

Twenty Love Poems
by Pablo Neruda, Chronicle Books

The Little Seven Colored Horse
by Robert D. San Souci, Chronicle Books

Murals

The Redding House, Biloxi, Mississippi
During the 1998 renovation of this historic building turned event venue, I was commissioned to paint murals on the ceiling and stair way.  To my delight, the building and the murals survived Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and are alive and well today.

Teaching 

Throughout the years, I have taught art in various schools and co-ops at at every grade level.  I am happiest when painting with children; however, my most rewarding teaching job has been home educating my own two children from birth until they entered college.