1. What sparked your interest in painting?
I started painting birdhouses with stencils when I lived in Alaska in the late 90’s and then
we moved to Nashua, New Hampshire in 2001 where I came across a beginning tole
painting class at the local craft store. I was a stay-at-home mom so I thought it would be
fun to learn to paint and get out of the house for a break. I was hooked after my first
class! At the store they had several Jamie Mills Price books and her designs further
sparked my interest in painting. A couple of years later we moved to the Dayton area, and
I found a wonderful teacher here. She challenged me and encouraged me to
try different mediums. She also introduced me to different painting chapters and the
HOOT convention, where I was in awe of everything that was available for decorative
painters.
2. Do you remember the first piece you painted?
My first piece was a very cute scarecrow I painted with acrylic on a chalkboard. I still
have it tucked away in my painting room somewhere. I was so nervous about ruining it,
but it turned out pretty well for my first time. It was then that I realized how important
the floating or shading technique was to a painting, so I went home and started
practicing it over and over again and took more classes.
3. What is your favorite surface, medium, or subject matter?
My favorite surface for acrylic painting is wood, and for colored pencils I find that Mi-Tientes paper is one of the best
surfaces. My favorite medium is colored pencils, though
I’ll always have a special fondness for acrylics since that is what I started with. My
favorite subjects to paint are mainly birds, animals and still life but I also like folk art,
4. Is there a project you still want to tackle?
There are many projects I still want to tackle. One such project is a portrait of our
German Shepard, Rocky who has passed on now. I also have a large sled I want to
finish from an online Jo Sonja class. And then there are several photographs that my
daughter took in Europe that would make great references for paintings… Too much to do.
