Artist Statement

I touched my first stick of pastel in 2005 and fell in love with the immediacy and intensity of its color—which matches the intensity of the Oregon coast where I live. In this beautiful remote place, I’ve been pursuing pastel painting with a passion, mostly self-taught using books, observation, and practice.

I had dabbled on and off—mostly off—for years in acrylics in my spare time. Then I tried out an ancient box of student pastels and was hooked. I couldn’t believe I could have it all! I love the intense and immediate colors that pastels provide, and no setup/cleanup time.

I moved to small, remote and beautiful Port Orford on the Southern Oregon Coast in 2002, which had been a life-long dream:  To live by the ocean. To me, pastels match the shocking beauty of the Oregon coastal landscapes, those wild scenes that pull me into painting them—I can’t not paint them!

It’s a cycle of first an emotional response, and then finding the colors and shapes that convey those feelings. Then those newly-formed images and colors produce a new emotional response, and back around the cycle I go again.

Exhibitions

·        Views of a Different Color – triAngle Square Gallery, Port Orford, OR, Oct 2009 - Jan 2010

Selected Group Shows

·        heARTworks Exhibit – triAngle Square Gallery, Port Orford, OR, Feb - Mar2010

·        Expressions West 2009 (juried) – Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, OR, April-June 2009

·        Expressions West 2008 (juried) – Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, OR, April-June 2008

·        Art Meets the Public (two person) – Port Orford Public Library Gallery, Port Orford, OR, Mar – June 2008

·        Artists and Writers Exchange 2009 – Southern Coos Hospital Gallery, Bandon OR, Oct – Nov 2009

·        Umpqua Valley Arts Association Public Show – Emerald Art Center, Roseburg, OR, June 2009

Gallery Representation

·        TriAngle Square Gallery, Port Orford, OR – 2006 to 2010

·        Earthworks Gallery, Yachats, OR – 2007 to 2008

Interviews/Articles

·        Shirley Nelson,  “Art Off the Wall – The Artist Emerges” (monthly news column), Port Orford News, Port Orford, OR, June 10, 2009

·        “Arts & Music Festival Award,” Port Orford News, Port Orford, OR, September 10, 2008

Art Education

·        Wolf Kahn, weekend pastel workshop, National Academy of Art, New York, NY, Feb. 2010

·        Kitty Wallis, week-long pastel workshop, Portland, OR, April 2006