It’s hard to describe your own work. Here it is, look at it – what do you think?

I paint the things I’m attracted to, on location if possible; painting on location brings an immediacy to my work not often found in the studio. Some of my work is very detailed; if I am attracted to the intricacy of the subject I will often make a very thoughtful, intricate painting…I love to draw, and so a very detailed drawing is like solving a puzzle for me. Some of my paintings are concerned with impressions, the way things make me feel, such as the way the colors of the sunset are echoed on the land…this is looser, more about color and less about detail. I like to paint the light instead of painting the figure; this allows me to show the model without a lot of detail, and also to weave the figure into the background. I try to always keep rhythm and a flowing line in my work.

I have a never ending fascination with the county fair, and am also enchanted with bull riding, perhaps because I love a huge gnarly sweaty crowd scene with lots of color and motion. My husband and I have just moved from rural western Pennsylvania to somewhat coastal Virginia; my plan is to temporarily abandon painting county fair scenes and focus on the beach. The crowd is just as fascinating, and the water as backdrop is just stellar...all those warm skin tones against the blue! Stay tuned.

I am a member of ArtFirst Gallery in Fredericksburg, VA.: some of these paintings are hanging there...the rest are in my studio. I have a few paintings and prints at the always awesome Sewickley Gallery and Frameshop in Sewickley, PA.