I grew up at north Lake Tahoe with a very active outdoor lifestyle of skiing in winter, hiking, swimming in the summer. I was given this love for the outdoors from my grandfather, a Forest Ranger in the Sierras since the 1920’s; my grandmother who was raised on a ranch in Alturas, northern California; my Dad who grew up in the Alps, who was in the French Mountain Troops and grew up on a farm. So, the outdoors and preserving nature is very important to me. I hope we can save these open, semi-wild spaces. They are home for me! Growing up I realized I also had some artistic talent therefore, sought an education in the arts. I graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts; Academy of Art College in San Francisco with a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design and have worked as a graphic designer for more than 30 years as well as creating paintings. I was a member of the Fort Mason Cooperative Gallery, San Francisco CA; participated in numerous exhibits Sierra Arts Association Reno, NV; Wild Women @ Northeastern Nevada Museum Elko, NV; Nevada Women's Money Conference for which I received first place award (watercolor & pencil) to mention a few. These days, my husband says I was a mountain goat in my past life as I spend every weekend outdoors with my camera & dog Floyd. We hike, ski, if too snowy in the mountains we head out to the desert in the winter while I snap photos of the outdoor beauty of these Sierra mountains and Nevada desert. After a hike I select & print out the photos I feel are intriguing enough to paint, add with other images to create the moment I had on a hike. Paintings, to me are like a good book, leaving space for the reader/viewer to use their imagination to fill with emotions, thoughts and more.