About the Artist

Born in Dearborn MI, retired from United States Postal Service

College for Creative Studies (formerly Detroit Art School for the Society of Arts & Crafts) 1967 -1974
BFA Painting, 1974
Wayne State University 1990-1996
MSW Mental Health 1996

Mentors and influences:

Patricia Lickteig, who taught me to draw a line
Russell Keeter, who taught me to love painting
Sharon Banks, who taught me to love life
Kevin MacPherson, who taught me to limit my palette
Robert Henri, who taught me to paint "with courage and great joy"
My late husband Robert Bowman, who was by my side throughout it all

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I knew I wanted to be an artist from the time I was eight years old. I clearly remember kneeling on the floor to paint a life sized (36" tall) portrait of "what we want to be when we grew up". Since I wanted to be a nun at the time, my painting was black, white and pink, with a blue for the sky and a green for the grass. When I saw how beautiful the colors looked next to each other and what a pure joy it was to place them on the paper, I immediately changed my mind as to my future, from nun to artist and never looked back.

These days, my interest is in capturing the essence of a moment, the play of light on a surface, the beauty of an ordinary object or the character of a person. My current passion is plein air painting; I also work with portraits and still lifes, in pencil, conté crayon, and watercolor.

So why do I paint and draw? I do it because I’m compelled to communicate what I see around me every day – the beauty of the colors, the light, the person’s expression revealing their character. But truth be told, I also paint because when I do, I’m as happy as that eight year old who has just discovered the wonderful and exciting world of art.

RESUME :

Easel paintings held internationally in private collections

Postal Murals on display at Detroit Post Office, 1401 W Fort St, Detroit MI & Postal Service Great Lakes Area Office, Bloomington, IL

Member of Oil Painters of America, Detroit Society of Women Painters and Sculptors, Downriver Arts Association, Northville Art House

Current President of Artists' Society of Dearborn

Please see "Events"  page for current exhibitions