I pursued various professions – florist, teacher, librarian, insurance broker, benefits manager, consultant – before a serious illness caused me to reexamine my life choices. I first picked up painting as a diversion from physical challenges, and it turned into a new way of life.

The summer before my illness, I

had taken a short course called “Teach Yourself to Paint” at the Farmers Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

There I was lucky enough to meet Janet and Charles Munro, the self-taught painters who led the course. I found a way to express the stories that are always running through my head.

I use my folk art to illustrate real stories of contemporary life in a fanciful way -- whimsically zooming in and out of my subjects -- changing the emphasis and compelling viewers to find all the twists and turns in my scenes.

I was born and raised in Valley Stream on Long Island, New York and spent most of my adult life in Brooklyn or New York City. I now live in a house overlooking Canadarago Lake in the upstate New York community of Richfield Springs, not far from Cooperstown. I love to travel but am always happy to return home to the lake and my painting.

I work with mixed media (acrylic, house paint and watercolors) on masonite, found boards, furniture, cabinets, and walls.

My paintings are in a number of private collections. They have received numerous awards and have been shown in group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the U.S., including the Canajoharie Library and Art Gallery in Canajoharie, New York and the Cooperstown Art Association Gallery, Gallery 53, and The Smithy, all in Cooperstown, New York.

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