Background
Born and raised in Toronto, art was always a big part of our family life. I always wanted to be a portrait artist but starting out in life, it seemed less risky to use your talents in a more practical way. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours degree from York University, I began a career as a graphic artist. After a successful 35-year corporate career in marketing and communications, I am nurturing my original desire to paint portraits… better late than never. I still have a foot in the corporate world but now that my children are grown, I am spending time between my home in Toronto and a cottage in Nova Scotia, and ramping up on a more art expressive life.

Artistic outlook
The appeal of doing portraits is the opportunity to reveal the person within, and not just a pretty visage. It is for that reason that I prefer to capture a more casual moment in a person’s life, in their everyday clothes, in their everyday setting with their everyday things. The external environment that one creates is just as much a reflection of who they are as are the lines on their face or the look in their eyes. For me, there’s an essential truth to capturing a moment of a real life that transcends a more formal pose. A portrait is not only for the sitter, but for the sitter’s family and friends so it should be a reflection of how that person is best known and loved.

CV
1985 - Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hon.), York University, Toronto
1986 - Colour Theory, Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto
1987 - Portrait Painting, Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto
2020 - Member, Portrait Society of Canada
2020 - Certificate of Achievement, Portrait Society of Canada annual competition

2022 - Pop-up Gallery exhibit through Torpedo Marketing, Vaughan, ON