Q: Where are you from and how did you get started in the Art world?

A: I'm from Gadsden, Alabama, and have always painted.  I majored in painting in college and received a Masters Degree in Art History. After teaching I found a studio at Tula, and the community of artists there helped me to expand my practice and develop my career. 

Q: How has your work evolved over the years and where do you find inspiration?

A: Talking art with creative people encourages my practice. The energy and drama of nature provide inspiration.

Q: Many of your paintings feature scenes from Tuscany and the Mediterranean. Are these your favorite places to travel to and how do these places inspire you?

A: Many of my paintings celebrate the light and color of the South of France. This is the landscape that pulls me back every year.  Fields of sunflowers, poppies or lavender are waves of earth (as Jean Giono put it) that are like manna to me.  I also love orchards, which I seek in north Georgia as well as France.  Shadows, reflections, and connection to the earth are meaningful to me.

Q: You have a number of beautiful portrait paintings in your studio. Do you enjoy painting portraits and would you like to paint more? If so, what’s your favorite subject, adults or children?

A: Portraits are a special challenge, which I enjoy and would do more of, but they are very time consuming.

Q: If you invited three famous artists to dinner who would they be and why?

A: Three artists I would like to sit down with are Wolf Kahn (for his fabulous color), Matisse (to talk about process), and Van Gogh ( to share his passion for the earth.)

Q: What do you love most about Atlanta?

A: I love that Atlanta is a bunch of small towns crowded together and I can have friends in very different communities.  I live in Midtown and feel that I can get most anywhere in town in 15 minutes.  Having been here over 50 years, I have put down roots.

Q: We know you spend a lot of time with your grandson. Tell us about him and how he inspires your work?

A: Having one of my two grandsons here in town is a great joy.  He loves the museum, loves to paint and craft, and he feels like an extension of me.  Although I can't be with my other grandson as much, he also has the love of painting and making things.

Q: Is there anything we have not asked you about that you would like our readers to know?

A: My studio is my happy place.  It is a retreat from cruelty and ignorance and a place to celebrate beauty.