There is only the present moment....to notice, appreciate, and capture the light and shadow, the color and beauty of what is in front of me. I see beauty everywhere: in people’s faces, in the movement of the body, in nature, in animals, in a flower that conceals the mystery within.
In 2007, I discovered pastels. I’ve studied with Boulder artist/teacher Gretchen Acharya, who shared her many years of experience in the use of color. Studying with artist Chuck Ceraso was a delight. Chuck had studied closely with Henry Henshe, master of the color and light found in Impressionist painting. A week of plein air painting at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico, led me to “see the light”. I began to play with color and break my own rigid habits regarding the use of color.
In 2000, Argentine tango found its way into my life. It immediately became a passion that led to travel. Meeting people, seeing new places has always been a passion. Photography was a way I usually recorded my experiences. Now, however, through my art, I have found a soulful way of recording the magic of tango, the sense of place, the power of looking into the eyes of people near and dear to me and those from far away.
People’s eyes and their expressions, wonderful places, the music, movement and connection of Argentine tango...the things which touch me deeply, which go beyond words, I can now share with my "impassioned pastels."
Pastels allow me to connect tactilely with my subjects. I work from photographs. If a photo touches me deeply, I feel compelled to capture that thread of emotion and carry it a step further into the vibrant energy of my pastels, which speak their own language from the heart. As a former speech therapist, I am delighted, now, to go beyond words, to a deeper place, to communicate through color, the beauty and diversity, passion and compassion in the world.