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I wanted a horse so badly when I was a kid I could hardly stand it. But my Dad’s job required us to move every few months. We lived in a very small trailer in trailer parks. When I was in the third grade we were given a piece of paper and told to draw something. I copied a picture of a horse from a book. Looking around, I realized my drawing was better than most of the others—hence my love for art began. I continued to draw mostly horses. Everywhere I went my eyes soaked up every painting I ran across and I wondered how they could do that. With no art offered in any of the schools I attended, I just did it on my own. I continued to draw into my adult life. My husband, two boys and I moved to a beautiful ranch north of Council, Idaho. We lived there for 15 years, on a creek, in the timber. My husband worked a lot with horses and fed with a team. With all this beauty around me my desire to paint just kept getting stronger. The only thing holding me back was that I didn’t know what paints, brushes and materials to use and I was so afraid I would do something wrong. When I was 30, I signed up for a tole painting class being held 40 miles away in McCall. After five lessons, I was too impatient to wait for classes so I started buying lots of books and painting on my own. After a few weeks, I was giving lessons out of my home. A year later I decided to try my first canvas – and I have never looked back. I signed up for as many local workshops as I could take over the next couple of years, subscribed to several art magazines, and continued to experiment. I wasn’t afraid any more. In 1987 I traveled to Big Timber, Montana to take a workshop with the internationally renowned artists, Robert Bateman, Veryl Goodnight, Jack Hines and Jessica Zemski. I began entering my art in all the local art shows and I received numerous Best of Show and People’s Choice awards. In 1993 I participated in my first major art show, The National Western Art Show” in Ellensburg, Washington, and I have attended it every year since. In 1997 I was awarded the Beef Promotion Award by the Kitattas County Cattleman’s Association for my painting “Clearing the Way.” In 1998 I won Best of Show with a pencil piece called “Perfect Fit.” This is my most cherished award, as it is selected by the participating artists. I have also received the Four County Art Guild’s Best of Show award four years. For 15 years, while working at a hospital, I continued doing my art part-time. I finally got brave enough to quit my job and paint full-time. In 1991 my husband and I moved to Cambridge, Idaho. I opened a small gallery, which was very well received. I started taking on consignment arts and crafts and offered custom framing. Before I knew it, I had outgrown my small building. In 1994 I purchased my present gallery. It continues to consume so much of my time that I cannot paint nearly as much as I would like. In more recent years I have attended Washington State art shows in Puyallup, Richland and Spokane and Idaho shows in Moscow, Lewiston and Riggins, Idaho. In 2003 I attended my first Western Heritage Show in Great Falls, Montana. I have also joined the Treasure Valley Art Association in Ontario, Oregon. They sponsor a month-long show from Thanksgiving to Christmas. In 1999 I hooked with fellow artist Vicki Flyg from Payette, Idaho (50 miles south of me) and we started doing shows together. It has been great fun getting to know her and makes doing shows so easier and fun. In 2001 we added Angie Okamoto from Mesa, Idaho (15 miles north of me) to the group. We are now like the Three Musketeers and depend on each other for support. We paint together when possible and keep each other informed on shows, art supplies and new techniques. I originally started painting in oil, but a few years later I changed to acrylic. I still use both of these mediums, but more recently have started doing a lot of color pencil pieces. I also occasionally use pencil. Like my mediums, my subject matter is diverse. Most artists paint only one subject matter, but I like so many subjects that I paint them all. Most of my paintings have been western landscapes, sometimes including cowboys, wildlife or barns. With the color pencil, I am working on suede mat and often leave the background out and focus on the subject. This is often a welcome change to concentrate on the detail of the subject and not have to worry about the landscape, too. This year one of my color pencil pieces of a pair of draft horses titled “Nip & Tuck”, took first at the Western Heritage Show in Great Falls, Montana. One of a cowboy on his horse titled “Morning Sun”, took the special award at the Washington County Fair. I never want to be satisfied with my art. I feel if you are not constantly striving to do better, you might as well hang up your paint brush. I know I will never be as good as many of the artists that I admire, but I always want my next painting to be better than my last. |
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