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Applying the phrase \u2018self-taught\u2019 artist to myself, I feel, begs some defining. The teaching came, not from picking up a brush or pastel stick and attempting to create a piece of artwork\u2026 that came later on, but it was more the life experiences that shaped my outlook on the world around me.<\/p>\n
From my upbringing steeped in the arts\u2026 mostly creative expression through music and dance, to experimenting with a bohemian lifestyle (living in \u2018the Village\u2019 as Toronto\u2019s Yorkville district was known then), a stint on Vancouver Island in a log cabin where I found serenity, to experiencing the joy of a home birth, to a \u2018back to the land\u2019 chapter where I dabbled in writing and illustrating children\u2019s books… each page contributed to the development of an inner character who eventually needed to surface and pour out, express, the resulting mist-covered memories and feelings within.<\/p>\n
I was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. My father, a true \u2018bluenoser\u2019 whose roots run deep in Nova Scotia soil, instilled in me the sense that Nova Scotia was \u2018home\u2019. And so it naturally followed that one day I would find the path that led back home.<\/p>\n
The art inclination, however, came from my grandfather on my mother\u2019s side who was a mural artist. His works graced the homes of some of Toronto\u2019s elite including the summer home of Timothy Eaton, the founder of the T. Eaton Co. Ltd. His love of creating restful pastoral scenes has trickled down through the genes and found its way into the heart of his granddaughter.<\/p>\n
For many years raising four children limited my time for art, but I did manage to get acquainted with a medium that kindled the desire to pursue a hobby \u2013 painting with soft pastels. A few of my paintings caught the attention of Lynwood Gallery in Baddeck, some of which went on to find homes as far away as Australia. I also squeezed in a few commissions, mostly portraiture, both pet and human.<\/p>\n
Art always seemed to come to my aid when it became necessary to help support the family. From creating a line of greeting cards to starting a website design company that is still going strong after 30 years!<\/p>\n
The Work<\/strong><\/p>\n Growing up in the city, annual excursions to cottage country nurtured a deep appreciation for the peace and tranquility of the countryside. Alone in the backseat I gazed wistfully at the passing idyllic scenes with their grassy meadows and graceful elms. Later while visiting various stately homes of friends around Toronto, or attending ballet workshops in a turreted old Victorian, I would be suddenly captured by a dark and moody landscape in gilded frame and be lulled into a quiet respite by the serene, atmospheric, ethereal glow. The emotion evoked by these experiences, dotted throughout my life\u2019s journey, have been etched on my very being.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until I began to revisit my creative practice over the past few years that I learned that there is a collective name for paintings of that sort: Tonalism. I began to search out and pour over hundreds of examples available online, works by such tonalist artists as George Inness, J. Francis Murphy, Charles Warren Eaton, Charles Melville Dewey, and Dennis Sheehan, and each time, thrilled that I could experience an immediacy of emotional response and transported once again into that quiet respite.<\/p>\n Through my paintings I hope to evoke that same response in those who view them.<\/p>\n Some influences along my journey include Maxfield Parish, for his unique use of \u2018golden hour\u2019 lighting, and most of the American tonalists, especially George Inness (1825 \u2013 1894), and contemporary tonalist Dennis Sheehan.<\/p>\n In the past two years I\u2019ve changed mediums twice, from soft pastels to acrylics, mostly for health-related reasons. Now, I\u2019ve moved on to oils, but I\u2019m so happy to have discovered \u2018water-miscible\u2019 oil paint. No turps, no toxic fumes, just the wonderful buttery properties of oil paint but with water cleanup!<\/p>\n Awards & Accomplishments<\/strong><\/p>\n Active Memberships<\/strong><\/p>\n Exhibitions & Events<\/strong><\/p>\n Publications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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