I moved to Charleston 20 years ago. With no previous training I decided to try painting. Acrylics first, easy clean up, then switched to oils, more freedom. I am inspired by the natural world around me. I love colors and shapes that I see outside, I try to make them come alive on my canvas. The sense of movement in my art is influenced by music, it is an essential element. Moving while I paint keeps the energy flowing. I use a palette knife to carve lines and shapes to construct a canvas full of movement. I love to build up layers of paint so just a sliver of the original peaks through. The blueprint of the landscape is secondary to the placement of the blocks of color. I am a member of the Charleston Artist Collective, a web-based business. I also show my work at Atrium Gallery in Charleston, SC. I paint in my home studio in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant, SC. I started painting to fill my walls...now I am an "artist in progress"