I began painting in 1996. My background is in fashion and costume design, theatre, dance and interior design. I have taken extension classes in painting at the San Francisco Art Institue and City College of San Francisco, but I am primarily self-taught. Most of my work has been imaginary landscapes. These are informed by my childhood in Michigan, travels in the West, summers in Maine and more than thirty years living in Northern California. Since each piece is an archetype and not a specific place the viewer is able to invest it with their own memories. I am also influenced by my materials, texture, found objects and images. I have painted on found and abandoned books and done a series of portraits based on found photographs. I love exploring the emotional resonance of color, or lack thereof.