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I chose the name "Out of Africa" for a series of sky and sea paintings I executed in the fall of 2015. I had visited a friend living in Melbourne, FL during August of 2015. Melbourne is on the east coast of Florida, in about the middle of the state, right on the coast. We were walking along a beach just south of Melbourne and this incredible thundercloud formation was just off the coast and rolling in. Both my friend and I took several photos of the approaching storm. When I returned home, I studied the photos and executed three paintings. I titled the paintings "Out of Africa" because Melbourne is directly across the Atlantic from Africa and it appeared that this storm had gathered strength as it moved its way across the Atlantic, out of Africa and to the US.

My Biltmore Brilliance exhibit was conceived several years ago when I visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. I had always wanted to see Biltmore and so when a tango festival was held in Asheville, I knew I could indulge my passions for art and tango in one trip. I spent one entire day at the estate touring the different buildings, exhibits, and grounds. I took many photographs, especially at the Conservatory. Upon returning, I selected a few of the photos to turn into watercolor paintings and over the next couple of years, I executed ten paintings from the photographs. I was able to mount my "Biltmore Brilliance" exhibit of the paintings at the Vienna Art Society Gallery in Vienna, VA from April 5 to June 4, 2016. You can view the exhibit at my Biltmore Brilliance Gallery on Fine Art America. Enjoy!

My path to becoming an artist has taken several decades. Now, in retirement, I can pursue my creative instincts that have been beneath the surface all these years. I can remember as a child that I loved coloring books. I would start at the first page and work my way to the end in one afternoon. I must have shown some artistic inclination, because my mother enrolled me in art classes and I took art as an elective in high school. I ran the Arts and Crafts program at summer camp and I've always worked on textile crafts such as quilting, embroidery, and cross stitch.

It wasn't until the past decade that my true artistic talent surfaced. I began taking trips to Europe when I finally had a job that gave me both the income to afford these trips and enough vacation time to take them. As a result of touring Europe, where I saw lots of art and cathedrals, I decided to take art history classes at the local community college in order to better understand the things I was seeing on my trips. When investigating the art history classes, I realized I could receive an Associate's Degree in Fine Arts by taking just six classes, two of which were the art history classes I was most interested in. Two of the other six classes were Design I and II. As I took these classes, and began drawing and painting, I found or rediscovered my love and talent for art. After receiving my AA degree, I took watercolor classes at the Art League of Alexandria because I had always loved watercolors. Today, I am a working artist with my main mediums in watercolor and textiles. I continue to gain skills in my artistic talent by taking workshops each spring and fall and working on my art every day.

If you have a spark of creativity and artistic insight to share, I encourage you to explore yours just as I did. It will add perspective and dimension to your life and enhance your relationship with the world.