How I Became Who I Am

First, I have always been an artist. It is the thing that most describes who I am and it has been for as long as I have existed. I have always expressed myself in some creative way. It's not a way to get attention, as some "artists" do, it is a part of the very core of my being. I love to draw and really, need to draw. It challenges me, helps me to focus, gives my soul a place to rest and gives me insight into the world around me. It is so deep that it's really hard to explain.

I love nature. I am fascinated by the natural world and this is a deep part of who I am also.

Put the two together and you wind up with me: an artist who loves to create outdoors or simply put; a plein air painter.

In October of 1996, when my youngest daughter was 4 months old, my mother-in-law came to live with us for several months. She had broken her wrist and wasn't able to live on her own until it healed. During that time, frankly, she drove me nuts. She was a great lady, but very opinionated and not always tolerant. I was trying to manage with the craziness of a young family. We had 3 young kids: a 4 month old, a 3 year old and a 4 year old. My husband is self-employed. To say it was somewhat chaotic would be an understatement.

My wonderful husband, Dave, must have sensed that I really needed a break and signed me up for a portrait class at the Creative Workshop at the Memorial Art Gallery here in Rochester. I went and loved it, continuing to take classes with the instructor, Sari Gaby at her studio. I started doing by portraits in colored pencil, eventually moving on to pastel pencils and finally on to soft pastel. Sari was sponsoring a plein air workshop by noted painters, Albert Handell and wife Anita Louise West. I decided to take it. During the workshop, I learned so much about pastel, color and values, but mostly, I experienced painting en plein air for the first time.

While at the workshop, I heard about a group of Rochester-based painters who were getting together for an international paint-out for the first time. It was the first of what would become an annual event and it was the beginning of my association with the Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters, an amazing group of talented and supportive artists lead by organizer and human dynamo, Barbara Jablonski. GVPAP holds paint-outs throughout the year and I try to attend as many as I can. The comraderie can't be beat and the chance to paint outdoors with a group of such talented painters is terrific.

After painting a couple of years I felt that my work had not been advancing and that I was beginning to stagnate. I needed something to push me to the next level artistically.

My friend and fellow plein air artist, Chris O'Handley, suggested that we consider going to a workshop given by Marc Hanson, an artist whose work we both admired. This was no small feat for me as the workshop was in Michigan and I live in upstate New York. The idea of leaving my family for over a week was terrifying for me. Never the less, we did go and it proved to be a fantastic experience. I learned so much at the workshop and the experience of going someplace I'd never been before was really enlightening and fun. I hated to come home. After getting back and figuring out how to use the new information I learned, I painted more than I ever had and the results were better than I ever expected. My work took a huge leap forward.

Right now I just try to get out as often as life will let me.

I truly love to paint outside. I never use photographs because they seem so lifeless and it's the experience of being in a place that I re-create, not just the image. I believe my need to paint and love of the world around me comes together perfectly as I attempt to re-create what I see. I think of it as being like meditation. It feeds my soul. In fact even now, when I am crabby, my husband often says, "Why don't you go out and paint?" I think he understands.