Art is a reflection of life in all of us. It is the wooden spoon that stirs the emotion. It calms the soul or curdles your blood. A piece of art can be a gentle friend, a stern companion, or a way to escape or revere normal. My paintings are a glimpse into the core of human perception with color and images that provoke thoughts and memories of the past and hopes that linger just out of reach in the future. My work is often influenced by music and poetry. There is an intimacy that I experience with my palette knife, hand, or brush. Adding layer upon layer of color, the depth of the paint reveals the life of the subject. As the image emerges there is that wonderful moment of recognition...Ahh there you are!
My early career was devoted to the field of contract design. The perfect combination of art and business. I loved space planning for the restaurants, hospitals, banks, and offices. Then the fun part of adding texture and color to the interiors. In hindsight my largest canvases! But then I studied intensely with two well known artist in the Northwest and once I put a paint brush in my hand 25 years ago there was no turning back….
I am originally from Kansas City and learned to appreciate the natural world on my grandfather's farm. Many memories inform my creativity today. Sitting by the creek weaving its way through the hollow of the trees, chasing fireflies with the silhouette of the dark Oak trees against the starlit sky, reading a book on the back of my horse as he wandered aimlessly eating the rich grasses under the glorious thunderclouds of rose, purple, yellow, and green.
I divide my time between Sun Valley and Boise Idaho. Having lived in Sun Valley for 31 years, raising my sons, I have a deep love for the wilderness and the wildness of the mountains.....truly awe inspiring!
I treasure sharing the magical world of delightful journeys through my paintings. Many of them inspired by my favorite poems or I love when I experience my own adventure with the shape of words.
I have participated in exhibitions in all parts of the country.
Exhibitions:
2009 Gilman Contemporary, Sun Valley Idaho/solo
2010-2011 Coda Gallery, Palm Desert
2013 Spring Gallery, New York City
2014 Muse Gallery, Longmont Colorado
2015 St Lukes Regional Hospital, Sun Valley
2013-2018 Wood River Valley Studio Tour, Sun Valley
2016 Smithsonian Exhibit,Water Ways, Sun Valley/solo
2017 Ketchum Community Library, Sun Valley/solo
2017 Lipton Fine Art Gallery, Sun Valley/solo
2019 ModArt Fashion and Art Gallery, Miami/solo
2019 ModArt Fashion and Art Gallery, Miami/Basel International Art
2020 Arts Benicia Gallery, Benicia CA/juried nat. online exhibition
2022 Deep Yellow Fine Art Gallery, Boise/juried national exhibit Boise
2022-2024 Boise Open Studio Collective, Boise, Idaho/juried
2022 Water's Edge Gallery, Boise Idaho/group exhibit
2022 Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna California/juried national exhibition
2022 Art Expo, Dallas Texas /juried exhibition
2022 Hilliard Fine Art Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri /juried national
2022 Red Dot /Basel, Miami, Florida / juried exhibition
2023 Hemmings Gallery, Ketchum, Idaho / group exhibition
2023 Art Expo New York, New York City / juried exhibition
2023 Jen Tough Gallery, Santa Fe / juried exhibition
2023-2024 Jump, Boise/BOSCO group exhibition Art as Song/Song as Art
2024 Initial Point Gallery, Meridian / group exhibition, w/Ballet Idaho
Published:
Spotlight Contemporary Magazine/Invitation only
Circle Foundation for the Arts International Publication
Contemporary Artist/Jen Tough Gallery, Santa Fe
Articles:
My work is also in private art collections in Caracas, Venezuela, Dallas and Houston, Texas, Kansas City, Mo, Washington, DC, Palm Desert, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Calif., Boise, Idaho, Salt Lake City, Utah, Boston, Mass. and Paris, France.
My exhusband and I started a contract/commercial flooring business that took my design and visionary capabilities and my husband's business and legal background to create a company that spans the western United States and is recognized as a leader in sports flooring and running tracks. I am no longer with the company but it is successful to this day.
I am currently the President of the non profit Boise Open Studios Collective Organization. I believe in the power of giving back and I thrive on watching the evolution of collaborations and creativity. My past leadership experiences in the non-profit world are varied; from taking a rubble parking lot in a dying downtown and transforming it into an urban park and gathering space, to the transformation of the community approach towards clean energy, to the elevation of theater in the local high school and participating in the evolution of a local theater company into a performing arts center. And now I have the privilege of encouraging the professionalism, knowledge, and value of art in the collective whole of the Boise/Treasure Valley community. I am grateful for this opportunity.
