As I was growing up in central South Dakota the people, landscapes, wildlife and my love for horses became the inspirations for many of my paintings.
Horseback riding, an essential part of my life, like a meditation for my soul was an important part of my every day routine. Checking on the cows, or just pleasure riding enjoying our rolling hills, wild flowers and rivers.
My spare time was filled with creating artwork for friends and relatives along with taking a home study course from the Minneapolis Art Institute during high school. Later I did take some workshops in Halsey, Nebraska for oil and watercolor under Jessica Zempsky, Jack Hines, Rose Edin, Stan Miller and Karen Vernon.
I decided to devote more time to my work as an artist about five years ago making it my number one priority. Exploring new mediums or revisiting old ones has brought me to my recent series called “A little Piece of Heaven on Earth.” It started as walks with my dog, Rembrandt over by Lake Vermillion, not far from our home. I try to keep art supplies in my jeep which helps to get me started on a piece nearly every day. Location painting or plein-air is a great teacher, pushing each piece to a new freshness while being that first hand witness to the landscape surroundings.
I watched spring turn to summer then fall, all documented with each piece. With some of the watercolor paintings I decided to add clear gesso and lay more color down with pastel, a pure pigment. The paintings took on a new dimension, one of my highly respected art friends said, “I feel like I could step right into each piece.” I plan on continuing this series to cover the entire year.