I'm a mixed-media artist living in Duvall, Washington and I've spent my life in the Pacific Northwest. Trips to the coast when I was growing up gave me a lasting fascination with the world just beneath the water's surface. It's a world that is mostly unseen, yet deeply connected to our own.
That fascination is the center of my art. My mixed-media work focuses on marine life and the relationships among species within an ecosystem, combining art, observation, and natural history. My marine-themed pieces have appeared in several local art shows, and I've also painted a commissioned marine-themed piece for a private collector. I continue to build a body of work celebrating the creatures of the Salish Sea.
My work is shaped by firsthand experience in conservation and environmental education. I've taught school-age children about our endangered Southern Resident orcas and taken part in hands-on nature education. I've also volunteered with marine researchers in the San Juan Islands, including collecting fecal samples used to study the orcas' diet and health. These experiences gave me a personal connection to the whales and to the people working to protect them.
As executive director of the Northwest Art Center, a nonprofit that offers art classes to the community, I see every day how art brings people together and helps them look more closely at the world around them.
My work rests on a simple idea: curiosity leads to understanding, understanding leads to appreciation, and appreciation leads to stewardship. Through detailed, approachable imagery, I invite viewers to look more closely at familiar animals, discover unfamiliar ones, and consider the connections between them and the places they live.
