I enjoyed 30 years in academia and produced the expected publications, including a textbook. By the time I retired in 2015, I had spent too long experiencing the world indirectly through theoretical constructs. Painting, drawing, and creative writing allow me to relearn how to see the beauty in the ordinary, to honor memories that have shaped the present, to experience and accept now as it is, and to share that with others.
For four years Dylan Critchfield-Sales has been my art instructor and mentor. The oil painting “Dad and Truck” was done in collaboration with Dylan. My intent is to capture and convey the of the “essence” of everyday places and things as I see them. My work is representational, but I do not strive to be photo-realistic.
The inspiration leading me to write and share is the joy my mother’s written collection of lighthearted stories has brought to generations of family and friends. I work with Lauren Clark as a manuscript consultant.