Artist Profile

I’ve been drawing and painting since April 2015, the first time, in about 32 years. I wanted to be a visual artist, among other secret things, but I lacked the courage to draw/paint and publicly share, until dub-poet, Lillian Allen, suggested I do Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, a 12 week program for blocked artists afraid to create for fear of failure, ridicule, losing love and other possibilities.

The other big push came from a powerfully blunt Facebook post by writer Anne Lamott on her 61st birthday in which she rightly reminds us that our days are numbered and that if you’ve got something to write, bang it out now, no matter how crappy. I wasn’t ready to write but I was ready to create visual art. Underachieving, denying my artistic yearnings and pleasure, had to end. In my 50s, creating visual art has been one of the greatest gifts I’ve even given myself.

I paint more freely now with a lot more colors! And I’m venturing into textured painting with modeling paste and I’m looking forward to this June’s Riverdale Artwalk show at Jimmy Simpson Park in Riverside. It’s my first outdoor summer exhibition! Come say hi 🙂