Biography

About Me

“This is worth noticing.” That is what I hope my paintings whisper. I think finding beauty in ordinary moments is what makes life feel magical. A good painting sparks a memory — the feeling of late afternoon sunlight, a favorite road trip, or a moment you didn’t realize mattered until years later. To me, painting is the closest thing we have to bottling sunshine.

I’ve always been more interested in looking around than looking where I was supposed to. As a kid, I filled sketchbooks with Victorian dresses, wildly dramatic florals, and anything twining or ornate. I never really got my head out of the clouds. However, I did take a practical path and earned a degree in elementary and early childhood education. I began teaching art in 1999, working as an elementary art specialist and director of an art literacy program, as well as teaching after-school classes. Children are the best examples—they notice everything, and they’re not afraid to tell you exactly what they think. I continue to teach through workshops and community outreach because I love helping people discover that same joy of seeing (and the puzzle of trying to capture it!).

From 2018–2025, I returned to my own dream to create with full-time study as an apprentice to Jeff Hein, where I received rigorous training in traditional drawing and painting. I continue my education through workshops and mentorships with artists I admire, including Casey Childs, Todd Casey, Doug Fryer, Tim Padilla, and Ovanes Berberian.

My work has been exhibited at the Utah Art Market, JKR Gallery, Alma Gallery, Prodigy, and the Midway Arts Association Gallery, and has received awards at Wasatch Plein Air Paradise, Holladay Plein Air, and St. George Plein Air. Some of my favorite moments happen after the paint is dry—connecting with someone at an event like Art & Soup or Art at the Park and hearing their own story, sparked by one of my paintings. That is what brings my work full circle.

Today, I am working on figurative works that tell the inspiring stories of both the women of the scriptures and modern women of faith—stories of courage, sacrifice, grace, and quiet strength that deserve to be remembered. I also love plein air painting (because honestly, Utah makes it hard not to), along with florals and still life paintings inspired by everyday objects that quietly deserve more attention than they usually get. I hope my paintings offer a gentle reminder that beauty doesn’t always announce itself. Sometimes it simply waits for us to notice.