Artist Statement
In this series of six Ecosystems I bring together my teaching credentials, artistic ability and love of nature. The works are highly detailed and intricate in keeping with the nature of the subject matter, which has to be recognized and identified by the viewer.
This does not fully represent my artistic stile, which is diverse, and varies according to the subject matter and medium in which I am working. It does however demonstrate my ability to accurately render what I see about me.
Artist Bio
I trained both in Education and Art in England, then left home to teach abroad, first in Nigeria and then in the Bahamas. Before long however I returned to my first love, and began painting the colorful scenes of local life, spectacular ocean and sandy beaches.
I procured a contract with a local gallery and enjoyed a prolific career with clients ranging from British Royals, millionaires, locals and tourists, who took my work to a host of different countries. My success as an artist prompted the Freeport Chamber of Commerce to nominate me for a distinguished Citizens award for the Performing Arts category in 1985.
Seeing a need, my next venture was to render in watercolor over 200 wild flower paintings for a book on the subject, and my search for a publisher brought me to Florida. Once there I received commissions to paint paint orchids in private orchid houses, and wild flowers for a couple of art collectors. I also married a Tennesseean and moved with him to the Nashville area.
I continued to teach art classes and painted the first two of the ecosystems inspired by the profusion of flowers along the roadsides and in the woodlands. I also started entering juried shows.
In 2009 I relocated to Indiana where I executed the rest of the series of ecosystem paintings, each one over a two year period for a total of fifteen years, the last one having been completed this year. During this time I also experimented with the versatile nature of watercolor paints and took up oils and acrylics for plein air painting, as well as revisiting the art of scratchboard, which I had not done since high school. I also wrote and illustrated three books, two of them for children.
I have taken part in juried shows all over the state of Indiana, securing many awards, especially for my Ecosystem series, all of which have taken first place and one best of show. I now use them as a teaching tool to speak to groups about the interconnectedness of nature and the need to protect and create natural habitats. For this the Robert Cooper Audubon Club of Muncie gave me an award for Education Through Art. Going forward this will be my main focus, having joined the Indiana Wildlife Artists Group and Artists for Climate Awareness, using my art for advocacy work, whenever I feel moved.
