The artist grew up and resides in New Jersey. She came from a loving working class family mired by mental illness. Her beginnings were humble and confusing. Slowly she made steps to improve her life, married and had kids. Using the courage she gained from raising kids she took the leap into higher education, first Sussex Community College, then Ramapo College of NJ, receiving a BA cum laude in Visual Arts, among other degrees. Always staying close to her working class roots she continues at Ramapo as an employee.
Searching for an identity, people have always been front and center to her, with the artist trying to connect and possibly be like them. This showed in her artwork. She transported herself into these subjects and lived their lives. She didn’t share that with her subjects...it was her own secret she kept safe to herself.
Juggling the responsibilities of a parent and working to put her kids through college, she structured her days and weeks to make time to create/paint. Somehow, creating a piece of work grounded her. She again transported herself, escaping from the noise and emotion, more for peace and quiet...again not sharing this secret with her subjects.
Now, the artist has matured and no longer seeks to mold herself into the images of others. Working in a higher education environment, she carved out her own life by herself (with the help of her partner). And now she is not escaping, but just discovering their shapes, colors and movement. She is a lot braver and pushes herself to converse and work with the subjects in real life. Artwork was her therapy as a child, where she felt grounded. Sometimes it still plays that part. But now, creating artwork is no longer a crutch, but a joy. And part of her still wants to hide...but we’re working on that.
Contact me and we can talk about paintings and the people in them
A Professor and His Blackboard - 20” x 16” Acrylic on Linen Canvas