I was born in the mountains of North Carolina and grew up in coastal Maine and Massachusetts. Boston’s great museums were a dime and trolley ride away, and Maine’s rocky, pine-covered coast filled my summers. I grew up hearing tales of my great-grandmother Caroline Thurber, a well-known portrait painter of her day, and her grand studio on Tappan Street. Although I never met her, she was a huge influence …a successful woman artist with a beautiful studio of her own!
During my first career as an art teacher, I discovered New Mexico through a colleague who had worked and lived on the Zuni reservation. Over cups of afternoon tea, he and his wife shared stories, photographs, pottery, and weavings. New Mexico became the catalyst for a major breakthrough in my art.
Coming from New England for my first journeys to the Southwest, I was stunned by the color, light, and landscape. Northern New Mexico wove her magic on me. I remember pulling off the highway while driving north out of Santa Fe, completely captivated by the play of light and cloud on those beautiful mountains.
I was thrilled to discover the thriving world of art in the West. I began to incorporate my new visual and visceral experiences into my work, and gradually moved into my heart’s goal of painting landscapes. Finally, in 1995, I moved to New Mexico to stay and have been painting the home of my heart ever since.
