About

Bio
b. 1984, Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.

I was an outdoor child, a relic from an analog era. I played with frogs and turtles and tramped through mud. Gardening, nature walks, and scenic drives were how my father and grandmother passed down their knowledge and entertained me. They both contributed to my early creative inclination by modeling their own creativity and passions. They taught me to pay attention to and appreciate the world around me. My creative appreciation of the world first manifested as a passion for SLR photography.

Photography taught me about composition, value, and how to communicate subjects and themes. I exhibited photographs in competitions as a kid, but I always knew I wanted to paint. The tactile quality of paint and working directly with my hands is what I yearned for most.

I delayed college for a time and pursued administrative work. But, I eventually returned to my desire to paint and attended Sandhills Community College in Southern Pines, NC. Graduating with an Associate Degree in fine arts summa cum laude, I transferred to an art school in Washington, DC, where I gave my transfer studies a try but became frustrated with how little time I spent actually painting while in art school. I left school to continue my art education on my own terms. I worked professionally in art galleries for a few years while continuing my studio practice.

I now work out of my home studio in Baltimore, Maryland, where I have access to dozens of natural resources and special hikes. I still feel deeply connected to the outdoors and share a love for hiking with my husband. Many of our favorite places and local surroundings inspire my work.

A statement about my current work and painting practice:

There is much overlap between my creative practice and my Jewish spirituality. Hakarat HaTov, the Jewish tenet of looking for the good, is my inner compass and drives how I perceive and interact with the world. As a chronic overthinker, looking for the good and paying attention to details grounds me in the present. I slow down and take in my environment, finding inspiration and wonder in the everyday. This journey is translated in my art through color, and texture.

Flowers and the landscape are central subjects in my work, as the outdoors and nature remains an important part of my life. When I can’t be outside, I try to bring the outside into my studio as much as possible with live plants, flowers, and time spent remembering favorite hikes. Observation, expressive mark-making, and play are important to my process.

My current work sometimes leans heavily in “abstract” territory, though for me it still relates to the subject and the time I spent with it. Painting from life is my preference; I start with closely studying the details, then move to translating the felt experience using color, texture, and marks as my visual language. As an expressive painter, feeling supersedes form in my work. I don’t paint to compose a perfect scene; I paint to communicate my experience of making meaning and finding the good.