I don't remember there ever being a time when art didn't play a major role in my life.  Art supplies (not baby dolls) were the greatest things anyone could give me when I was little.  They kept me happily busy during the long Western NY winters when the snow was deep and the temps were too low to play outdoors.

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Blue ribbons in local art competitions and state fairs were followed by a college art scholarship upon high school graduation. Instead of art, however, I chose to major in psychology then English and philosophy at West Virginia University in Morgantown, but it was my art compass that led me to UNC Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill, NC where I was employed as a medical artist.

 

Eventually I relocated to Norfolk, VA and worked as a commercial artist and copywriter in the communications industry (WTAR Radio, TV 3,  and The Virginian Pilot).  Later I traded the big city life for life in the fish lane on Hatteras and started painting with passion fueled by the irresistible allure of the island.  I also met my future husband here, and together we established Browning Artworks, the island's first art and  fine craft gallery.  The business enjoyed 20 successful years until we closed its doors so I could devote all my time to being a full-time working studio artist and watercolor instructor.

Hatteras continues to excite my muse.  I admit that using paint or pixels to capture every subtle nuance of the island's natural beauty is like trying to catch the ocean in a fishing net. Yet I persist in my attempts in order to share with you some of what I love about my heart's home - the mercurial moods of the sea and sound, the interplay of light and shadow on the sand, and the buckets of brilliant colors  splashed across the morning and evening skies.

These gifts of Creation not only inspire my art, but they also provide the basis for many of the songs that I write. The lyrics come to me while I'm walking the beach, the dunes, or a path along the Pamlico Sound.