Biography

I look back at my childhood and I remember all the places we lived and all the moves we made. My father was in the forces and we moved a lot – Edmonton, Prince Rupert, Calgary, Bellville, Ottawa, Germany, and finally Courtenay. I went to nine different schools before graduating from Courtenay High in 1961.

I’ve liked to draw for as long as I can remember, almost forever. My homelife did not encourage such a frivolous activity, but there were a couple of teachers who told me to keep drawing. I did.

I love children. I became an elementary teacher. I got married and raised a family. We lived in Campbell River. I taught hundreds of six year olds how to read. I loved teaching, but there was always this need to draw and to paint. I kept trying to squeeze in evening courses at the local college.

Then, in 1990, my life changed. After 25 years my marriage ended in a divorce. Suddenly I was free to make my own decisions. I went to summer school at U. Vic and finally completed my degree in education. There I met lots of new friends, some from Nelson. I heard about the Kootenay School of the Arts.

The rest is history. I moved to Nelson. I took as many art courses as I could manage while teaching fulltime. In 1999 I took early retirement so I could paint. And that’s what I do. I have a wonderful studio. I work hard. I am living my dream.