At 39, as a homeschooling mom of two and a caretaker for my father, I was meditating at “Ponder Point” in Kure Beach when I heard the words “Whatever you do, Paint”.
I had no idea what that meant but it felt as though it was a command not just some random thought. It repeated several times and progressively got louder and louder. When I returned home I found my children watercolor painting at the kitchen counter. I asked my husband to start dinner and told him what I had just heard during my meditation, it had now become clear what I was to paint. That Saturday night, in late December I sat down and began to paint rather than cook dinner. I have had no art training beyond 8th grade and had never even remotely thought about art as a career. I honestly would not have drawn you a stick figure if you had asked for fear of how awful it would look. When I completed a painting that evening my husband and I were both amazed at how nicely it had come out, it is titled “The Cove” and is a piece that now hangs in the homes of many locals and tourists alike. He encouraged me to purchase professional quality art supplies and create more and so I did and my professional art journey began to take shape. I began painting all of my favorite local scenes around Pleasure Island I found a love and a desire that I had not known was in me. That was 18 months ago, and I have been creating and learning through books and online since. I launched a website in November last year and began sharing my work with everyone I came into contact with. The joy that comes from knowing something I created hangs in someones home reminding them of the love and light within makes my heart swell and my soul flutter with light.
I create high quality archival Giclee reproductions of my work at home on my Pixma Pro-10 and sell matted prints as well as framed works, custom tote bags, note cards, bookmarks and hats all adorned with my original artwork. This has been a very wild and humbling journey, to discover a hidden talent at any age is incredible but for me it has given me the opportunity to help support our family while allowing me to care for my disabled father and home school my 6 & 7 year old as well. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to live the best life I can and share the joy and light that shines in each and everyone of us.
