Artist's Statement

My artwork takes many different views of social, political, and cultural issues. My work is sometimes brutal and sometimes soft and gentle.  Many of my works reproduce familiar visual sights while others come from my imagination. I need to be a creative thinker and use music to take me away to a magical place to create beauty.

Often, I use a variety of materials and processes in creating art. The subject matter of each body of work determines the materials I select to use.

I started drawing around age three and won my first contest in first grade. I have always sketched and have filled many books and journals, always recording nature, my feelings and developing symbols to create patterns.

My hometown is Greensburg, Kansas. My wonderful high school art teacher was Archie Shepard.  I went to college at Fort Hays State University and received a fine arts degree in 1971 with majors in drawing, painting, and printmaking. I started teaching Art at McCook, Nebraska, in 1971 and retired from teaching in 2009 at Clyde, Kansas. We now live in Newton, Kansas, where I have time to paint.