My interest in the creation of things with one’s hands started at least partly when, as a child, I was so impressed with the clothing made for me by my mother; and one of my earliest artistic influences was my aunt, Gathie Falk, who I recall watching with fascination as she painted.

Throughout my life I have experimented with self-expression through various forms of tactile and visual creative pursuits such as sewing, quilt design, weaving and photography. About 20 years ago I took some chinese brush painting classes. From there I went on to landscapes and animals in soft pastels. Taking several drawing classes inspired me to complete the 3 year Fine Arts Diploma Program at the Victoria College of Art.

While initially my painting was more realistic in style, my focus has become the exploration of non-representational or "abstract" art.
Some of my influences include the works of Lyonel Feininger, Tom Thompson, Hans Hofmann, Clyfford Still and several more of the Abstract Expressionists; as well as Gathie, who impresses me with her individuality and continues to be a source of inspiration and encouragement.

British Columbia has always been my home; from the Pemberton Valley nestled in the Coast Mountains to the Sunshine Coast on the Straight of Georgia during my early years; then Vancouver, the Okanagan Valley and Victoria during my adulthood; and always there has been the prominent grandeur of the natural environment.

Inspiration for some of my current work comes from the designs caused by alcohol ink placed randomly on Yupo (non-absorbant) paper. From there I crop and manipulate sections of the ink painting and then render it in acrylic and/or collage on canvas. The collage pieces were begun on textured ground made of white tissue and rice papers on canvas. From there I used acrylic paint, acrylic inks and hand-dyed papers to bring out the image. Although I always begin non-objectively, very often there is a partially recognizable image or suggestion of landscape in my final artwork.