Words don’t always come easily to me, but colors do.

I’ve always seen my feelings in color, which is why painting has always been such an integral part of my life. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to be a painter. As I grew into adolescence, I primarily painted landscapes, focusing my attention on the beauty around me and escaping into happier places. By the time I finished college, I started realizing that the color I loved using in my landscapes was more than just painting pretty things. Each landscape and color palette I chose was a reflection of what I was going through in my life. It was then that I started to pay less attention to the subjects in front of me, and focused more on the colors that reflected what was going on within me. The stronger the emotion, the more clearly I would see the color. The more I thought about the layers of the situation at hand, the more clearly I could see the layers of the painting. I was an intuitive painter before I had ever even heard of it!

 I stopped painting for a few years while I became a mother to four wild little people. It wasn’t until I started painting again, and after a very dark time in my life, that I realized how incredibly important this part of me really was. That feeling of release when I moved the paint across that first new canvas was a freedom like no other. I always compare it to letting out a visceral scream, so therapeutic and raw. This newfound meaning transformed my paintings and took them to a new level. Painting gives me permission to be all that I am, and all that I want to be, without judgement. I can connect with myself, and others, on a deeper level while constantly rebuilding trust and validating myself. Painting not only heals, but also reminds me to loosen up and have fun. Honestly, that’s what life is really about - playing, experimenting, and laughing.

The vulnerability and honesty with myself and others created connections that have satisfied the innate self need to be seen and validated, and to find out that we aren’t alone.  I paint not only for myself, but for all those who have trouble finding the right words, for everyone wanting to be seen and heard, and for the people looking for connection.