I began my “art career” when I was about 8 years old. My mother would get me a paint by number paint set every Christmas. I was one of 6 children and loved to draw along with painting those pictures. That love and excitement of smelling the oil paint and waiting for those pictures to dry were fond memories.
When I started the 11th grade our school had its first art class! I was beyond excited to be in that class. My art teacher, Marie Dolchan, was a fresh graduate of college and full of enthusiasm and grand ideas. She made learning so much fun. I took art in my senior year of high school also. This was the only formal teaching I had.
My love of geometric figures began when our high school geometry teacher, Boyd Whitt, would have a contest every year using geometric figures. I couldn’t wait to draw then. I did win a few of those. I still love drawing geometric figures.
I met my husband Mark in my junior year, and he was such a great artist even back then. We would draw together a lot and I felt I was learning so much from school and him. We married in my senior year of high school, and I left pencil and brushes for many years to raise our family of three boys.
Fast forward to 2005 where Mark and I met Alice Fischer at Hobby Lobby, where she invited us to come to PAPAs on Broadway in Paducah, KY. That meeting led us to start painting with other artists that helped to change our way of painting and drawing. It was there that we started painting with a group on Thursday nights at PAPAs, Mel Garbark, Scott Morris and Diane Ireland. We quickly became friends and before we knew it, we were all learning from each other. I tended to watch Scott paint the most since I leaned toward his way of painting. It was encouragement from Scott and many of the members of PAPAs that made me want to create more.
Now that I am retired, I don’t paint as much as I would like but still do more now than before. I love watercolors, ink, pencils, oils and acrylics. I love abstract and I love realism. I love color and black and white. All this makes me happy when I complete a piece.
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