For me a painting should be something likeable, joyous and pretty-yes pretty!  There is enough ugly in the world, we don’t need to add to it. To paraphrase Renoir, a painting is an expression of the artist’s soul.  I fully agree with his artistic philosophy, and my soul is filled with optimism and hope.

As a student in the late fifties at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, it was hard not to be influenced by the controversial abstract movement that had enveloped the art scene.  Chicago was developing as a major art mecca with figures such as Claes Oldenburg, Ed Paschke and LeRoy Neiman. Abstract art, to me, is the marriage of imagination, spontaneity, and color.

My latest collection of abstract impressionistic florals reflect my love of color – bold and vibrant.  Many years of gardening supplies a wide range of natural subject matter.  It is exciting to forgo the rules of tradition in creating a scene of still life in blocks of color not always true to reality.

With every canvas I am still learning something about color, light, dimension and composition.  I like to express myself with my hands rather than words. The most necessary and wonderful things in life are created through spontaneity, serendipity, and with a sense of hope.