My career as an artist and designer began in 1978 following my education at the Art Institute of Portland.  I became an architectural store planner and commercial interior designer with Frederick & Nelson and Meier & Frank, leading upscale retailers in Oregon and Washington.  During the course of my design experience, I developed an interior design and visual display company in Portland, Oregon which eventually expanded to include a full service floral showroom where I earned prestigious design awards in Oregon competitions. 
        After my move to Montana, I studied at the University of Montana and in 2002, I was awarded an academic scholarship from the University of Northern Colorado where I earned my BFA in art and history.  Working from my Montana studio and traveling across many states, I exhibit, compete and demonstrate my artistic techniques. Since 2005, my works of art have been juried into national and international competitions, awarded and exhibited at galleries throughout the western and mid-western regions, including several national museums. Selected works have been published on book covers and in magazines.       

        My art creations include original glass art and I enjoy drawing with pastels and graphite.  Currently, I am working with beeswax from which I create original encaustic art compositions.  This is a process that represents an important innovative movement involving a painting technique invented by the ancient Egyptians, the original beekeepers.  The art was developed by the Romans and perfected by the Greeks.  Over time, artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Van Gogh experimented with the medium and the art was later revived by contemporary practitioners such as, Diego Rivera, Picasso and Jasper Johns.  Also known as "hot wax painting," the Greek term, enkaustikos means "to burn in." 
        I formulate my medium from pure beeswax, oil pigments and damar, a fossilized resin.  From two million flowers and a multitude of bees, one pound of fragrant wax is produced.  Through encaustic painting, I can suspend my thoughts from under a luminous stratum of personal expression.  In its molten state, the wax medium is painted onto the surface substrate.  The encaustic experience creates an interaction between my intuitive impulses and the luscious wax appeal that can only be characterized by the freedom of spontaneity.  Visual depth is achieved through its many fused layers and the pollen in the wax produces a final golden luster.  Over time, the surface cures and hardens into an ever enduring work of art.  My encaustic creations maintain exceptional archival properties when cared for, as with all fine art forms.