About

I am a visual artist whose paintings explore the natural environment, the idea of beauty throughout history, and abstraction in drawing and painting. My work focuses on energetic brushwork and color along with an emotional connection to place and time.I live and work near the coast of Lake Michigan in a 110 year old storefront/studio complex that I shared with the painter Melanie Parke.

For over 30 years I've shown in galleries and individually promoted exhibitions. My most recent exhibition was at the North of History Project Space in New York City in a show titled ‘dislocation/reclamation’ with the New York painter Rebecca Allen. I showed a series of small portraits of women taken from historical paintings. In June of 2019 I will have a solo exhibition of new landscape paintings at the Ramsdell Regional Art Center in Manistee, MI.

I have been awarded artist residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, The Heliker- LaHotan Foundation, The Antico Borgo Finocchieto in Tuscany, and recently a VA residency at the American Academy in Rome. I am a recipient of a NEA Artists Grant, A Michigan Arts Council Grant, and The Michigan Governor’s Award in the Arts.

In 2015 Melanie Parke and I formed The Provincial exhibition space where we have curated over 12 individual and group exhibitions showcasing artists from around the country.

We welcome you to arrange a studio to see our studios and paintings. We are located 2 hours north of Grand Rapids and an hour south of Traverse City.

Artist Statement 2019

“I make paintings because I believe it is still one of the most important personal, social, and political acts a person can do. Making a painting brings new ways of thinking and looking forward into our consciousness. My work draws from a wide array of artistic influences from Fairfield Porter to Georgia O’Keeffe, from Etruscan and Roman frescos to the Canadian Group of Seven. It is my desire to make paintings that look upon the natural environment and our his/her-story in new and transforming ways.”