As a child I entertained myself for hours through drawing and sketching with basic #2 pencils. During adulthood I learned to utilize pen & ink and charcoal. There has always been something that attracts me to black and white drawings. When working with black and white, the lines and smudges do not overpower the subject. The eye can easily find the focus, and the viewer connects with it intimately.

But today my attention has turned toward learning to bring color into my art, with paint. The nuances of color broadens the range of emotion one can express in a piece.

The image on my home page is part of an acrylic painting. It is freeform, creative painting, where there is no intent on developing an image, only in focusing on the process. This painting is a result of a wonderful class offered by Creating Space Studios in Hillsborough, NC.

		Blue Ridge Moon 8.5" x 5", watercolor Inspired by the beauty of the North Carolina Mountains, this painting was a study of Jeanne Carbonetti's free-form style. Chosen for the October 2004 'Dream a Little Dream' exhibition at the Visual Art Exchange
		Blue Ridge Morning 8.5" x 5", watercolor Inspired by a hike through Grandfather Mountain. Also a study of Jeanne Carbonetti's free-form style.
		Starry Pears 6" x 4", watercolor A study in painting from a photograph. (photo was taken from a magazine) Chosen for the October 2004 'Dream a Little Dream' exhibition at the Visual Art Exchange
		Study of House 6" x 6", watercolor This sketch began as a quick 10-minute warmup in a class. I worked a little longer to add a few additional details to the sketch. (based on photo from a magazine)
		Roses watercolor This painting came from a photo in a magazine. It's one of my earliest watercolors when I didn't realize that transparency was a desirable quality, so I tried to painstakingly paint the details of the flowers. In the end, I am actually very happy with the painting, especially because I didn't "know better". Sometimes in art it is better to know less, so the process is more of a discovery, and so the artist is less inhibited by 'proper technique'.
		Green Apples watercolor This quiet image was created when I really wanted to study working with shadows and highlights in watercolor. My surprise was how much I enjoyed creating the pussywillow branches; they came out very subtle and loose, without much effort. I had originally thought they would be the hardest thing to paint, and in the end they were quite simple.
		Flowers oil Not sure what type of flowers these could be - a hypbrid daylily and gladiola? I just painted from my imagination letting the brush guide my hand, just making strokes that felt right. The only preconception I had when beginning this painting was knowing that I had the need to paint something in the gold and red color scheme.
		Fireflies by moonlight watercolor I love this painting because I really love skies and moons, and am thrilled with the quality of this sky. This painting was a lesson in knowing when the painting is finished. I tried to say it was 'done' too early and was very unhappy with it. So rather than tossing it I continued to work on it and soon realized that my earlier dissatisfaction was due to its being incomplete.
		Golden Road oil pastel I was inspired to try oil pastels for that creamy quality that shows up on paper. I liked that they have a depth of color and a lushness of strokes, without the heavy feeling of traditional oil paintings.
		Falling Leaves watercolor This little painting is a testament to the fact that you can rework a watercolor painting - you can erase mistakes. I was very unhappy with the first few washes and ended up wiping most of it away and starting again, and am happy with the final result.