I’ve always been drawn to art. Its expressed form, its meaning, its effect. So, when I moved to New York City in 1996 and was exposed to the plethora of exceptional art it was dizzying for a girl from small town Clarksville, Arkansas. With a hunger, I consumed museums, galleries and graffiti. In time, my attraction to abstract expressionism emerged. 

 

Six months at the New York School of Design instilled some fundamentals, but essentially, I’m a self-taught artist. Painting is a release for me and music sets my mood. Speaking through colors and brush strokes, each painting is unique. 

 

Four years later when I returned to Arkansas, my future husband encouraged my art and in 2003, I exhibited 13 paintings at the Art Resource gallery in Springdale. With five pieces sold, I was optimistic and started to paint with greater frequency. 

 

In 2005, Celebrate Magazine of Northwest Arkansas noted my work in an article on the grand opening of The Ice House in Bentonville, where I exhibited five paintings. By 2007 my work was featured at Art Expos; Boi de Ourorestaurant in Fayetteville in April and June, then twice more at The Art Gallery in Fayetteville in 2008. 

 

Then in 2009 I was featured in Celebrate Magazine in an article about Mike and Carmen Armstrong, who bought three of my paintings. Serious collectors, the Armstrong’s have works by Natashia Barnes, Salvador Dali, Romero Britto, Carlos Irizarry and Eric Robinson.

 

So, whether working from inspiration or a commission, painting is now my calling. And when a patron responds to my work, it’s even more rewarding.