Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, I now live just north of the city near the lovely town of Bird’s Hill.
My career as an elementary school teacher spanned thirty-seven years and I loved my job. As a music teacher I was fortunate to spend my days singing and dancing, writing music and dramas, helping children to love music and grow in artistic sensitivity. How lucky is that!
After retiring from teaching I found more time to explore visual art. Leona Brown was my first watercolour instructor and remains a dear friend. I have also studied with other Manitoba artists: Alex Suprovich, Ray Dirks, Freda Psooy, Wendy Kroeker and David Cooper. As well I have worked with West Coast and Calgary based artists Brent Laycock, Karen Richter, Nancy O'Toole and Jean Pederson. I delight in finding the parallels between my two artistic passions: music and painting. I love composing with rhythm, line, colour and expression. As in music making, I find making visual art to be both challenging and exhilarating.
In my younger days I lived in California and also traveled in much of the United States, Europe and Russia. In the last few years my husband and I have visited every province of this beautiful country as well as Alaska and the Panama Canal. One of our favourite places is the Charlevoix region of Quebec, where there is a new panorama to paint around every corner. Many artists have studio-galleries and are passionate about chronicling “the old ways” of Quebec: simple hard-working, fun-loving people, with their homes clustered into villages along the St. Lawrence River. Other places that I have been inspired to paint are Jasper National Park, Trinity Bight in Newfoundland and Vancouver Island. While my daughter was teaching in Thailand we spent an extended time enjoying the tropical beauty and colourful culture of the east.
I am a member of the Local Colour Art Group, Selkirk Art Group, the Assiniboine Artists' Cooperative and Manitoba Society of Artists. I am also the Winnipeg Representative for the Calgary based Leading Edge Workshops. Our April workshop will feature Jean Pederson and will be held at 120 Poplar Avenue.
My work has been shown at the Gwen Fox Gallery in Selkirk, Local Colour Art Shows, Art Expo, Maple Tea House, the Conservatory at Assiniboine Park, the gallery at Rembrandt’s Bistro, The Great West Life building, the Winnipeg Library, Henderson Highway branch and the Winnipeg Down Town Library.
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