After receiving a BFA with honors in painting and printmaking from Columbus College of Art and Design I moved to California and had various group and solo shows including performance art and installations in San Francisco and Los Angeles. I also worked for 15 years doing architectural design and drafting, leaving that work to form an independent graphic design business. Finally, in order to have more time to focus on my painting, I decided that larger projects would leave me more time to paint in between projects. Custom wall treatments, decorative painting, faux finishes, trompe l’oeil and murals were the focus of my work during that period, along with making paintings and pastels.

A few select projects include murals in a 600-year-old converted monastery in Tuscany, Italy and 3 murals (the largest was 16′ by 60′) for a Miami Florida Super Bowl Owners Pre-game Party. There are many others, too numerous to mention. Also. I loved collaborating with people on projects because painting is a solitary pursuit and that created a balance in my life. I must say, it was also a lot of fun and very satisfying, for me, as well as for my clients.

Keeping up with all this required discovering how to function at levels of peak performance. This activity of simultaneously having two full-time occupations led me to the study and practice of yoga, fitness training, meditation and other forms of personal empowerment. And all my life has been a quest to discover the nature of spirituality.  Even as a child I was asking questions like, “What came before the beginning?” They told me to not ask such things. 
Art itself I see as a form of spiritual practice, although any good-hearted endeavor can be practiced in this spirit. Friends, travel, music and participation in the art world has always brought great joy. Spending time in nature (hiking, drawing, backpacking) has been my inspiration and teacher. Respect for the environment, clean air and water, delicious organic raw food, permaculture – Way to Go!!.

I was quite successful until I was overcome by overexposure to chemicals, solvents, fumes, molds and exposure to nuclear waste at a shipyard where I had a painting studio. My hair analysis test showed I had high levels of uranium and, also, cadmium, mercury and later, arsenic. A seemingly endless period of ulcerative colitis, multiple organ failure and every side effect known to man (well, almost every one) ensued. During this period I worked personally with practitioners who monitored my progress with blood tests, live-cell blood tests and hair analysis tests. The uranium and heavy metals are gone now, removed by the Relax Far Infrared Sauna. The sauna eliminated the rheumatoid arthritis that developed in my hands as one of those side effects. And using Protandem with the sauna eliminated the need for the hip replacement surgery I was told I would have to have since x-rays showed I had no cartilage in my hip and I was on crutches. They told me that was impossible but I don’t use even a cane anymore and I dance up a storm to celebrate!

During the process of healing from this onslaught and for very many additional years, I studied holistic health and nutrition by searching out the cutting-edge works of pioneering researchers in the field. I am grateful to have had the privilege to have had access to that and to have had the time, the inclination and the ability to absorb this knowledge. I discovered the underlying principals of creating glowing health and vitality and how incorporating them into daily living can turn our lives around. 

I wanted to know how to have optimal health and vitality to be able to be creative for my entire life. I didn’t know I would have to go through all of that to find out! But now that I have, I have discovered that I have a gift to share that may prove useful and be a blessing in the lives of others. And that feels pretty good to me!

If you would like to see my artwork please visit:   Here! This is primarily my painting-from-nature series since I don’t have a painting studio currently. It’s not representative of my work as a whole. however, it is my most recent work along with a few samples from the past.   I hope you enjoy what you see.