I am so grateful to see ‘Peace Keeper’ in his new home! Thank you so much to my clients, Mr. and Mrs. Dearani for adding him to your art collection and for sending me this photo! Thank you so much!

Yesterday I shipped my oil painting ‘Peace Keeper’ to its new home in Minnesota. Its always a little bitter sweet to send them off. As an artist I am very connected to my work and truly love my paintings. I appreciate this collector who added Peace Keeper to his collection of my art. I know that he and his wife truly love the bison that I paint. Having my paintings resonate with such wonderful people is truly a gift.

So why do I paint bison you may ask? The bison are native to our beautiful country and represent such profound power, strength and courage. If you ever see a bison in the wild, you too may be struck with awe and reverence as I was. This bison is looking at you, calm and peaceful, yet filled with great power and strength. He is the Peace Keeper.

I was blessed to visit Yellowstone several years ago with my family. We saw many herds of bison from a distance, but one early morning while driving, we quickly stopped our car as 70 or so bison came out of the woods and began trotting down the road towards us. I was amazed to see them, hear the sounds they make and feel our car vibrate from the pounding of their hooves. They passed by our car so close that I could have touched them. Looking into their eyes and hearing the low rolling sounds from the bulls and seeing the calves trotting along side their mothers. It was such a beautiful experience!

I think I will always be drawn back to painting the bison. They now live in my heart and soul.

Jewel was a very special horse. A beautiful horse that was truly a soul friend to her owner. A few months ago her daughter came to me and asked me if I could paint her as a surprise for her mom. She explained to me how this horse was truly a friend, wonderful riding horse and sweet companion to her mom. Jewel was not here in this world nearly long enough and her presence was deeply missed. She only had a few photos of her, none were ideal for a painting. She told me that her mom had said on several occasions how she would love a painting of Jewel as if she were looking in the window at her. I pondered the photos and what this would mean to her and began on my composition and painting. She had a very unusual eye and I knew that was an important element to this painting. Using my imagination was key as I never met this special horse and the photo references were not clear. We surprised her mom, Leslie, a few weeks ago by asking her over for tea. After having tea we walked into my studio. She was telling us how much she would love a painting of Jewel and looked at her painting she said ‘Something just like that’! Her daughter and I smiled and she then realized, this was her painting of Jewel! She was truly surprised loves it! The element of surprise was so much fun! Thank you my friend for trusting me with this precious gift!

There is such a profound bond and friendship between a woman and her horse. Many of us have experienced this and know how special this connection of love truly is. This drawing depicts this for me…who is she? I don’t exactly know, she lives inside my imagination.

I know that men do too, but as a female I know that we really seek the company of our horse for solace and friendship. Just being with our horse can lower our blood pressure and quiet our minds.

I really enjoy drawing in charcoal and this fun, expressive piece is enhanced by spontaneous gestural mark making!

‘Creative Thinking’ Charcoal 18 X 24 in a 24 X 30 Wood Frame

This drawing has several layers of archival spray fixative. I photographed it from an angle to help eliminate reflections on the glass.

Painting is a fun and interesting journey. I often wonder as I paint who the painting will go too, who will know that this painting is meant for them. Last October my friend and client, Dorothy came to my Open Studios Art Show and fell in love with this oil painting, ‘Night Dancers.’ It was immediate and she told me, this is the one. Thank you Dorothy for adding this colorful painting of horses to your home! We both feel such deep passion for these beautiful creatures. I am so happy that this painting now lives with you!