Painting was on my ‘life list’ – this was something I wanted to do. It wasn't until 2001 that I had the opportunity to attend a watercolour workshop at Emma Lake, Saskatchewan. This was my introduction to this challenging medium and I loved it. I took a second workshop at Emma Lake in 2002. On taking early retirement in 2003, I knew that I wanted to paint more seriously.

In July of 2004, I had the great good fortune to attend a workshop in France with Kiff Holland, an internationally known artist. There, I learned more about watercolour painting and about egg tempera. This latter medium is an adaptation of a very old way of painting that uses egg yolk and watercolour pigments to create intense and transparent colours. I also learned about art and being an artist. I was able to return to France again, in September 2005 for another workshop.

Throughout the fall of 2006, I took a class in painting with oils, with Iris Hauser. This was my introduction to this medium and I have enjoyed learning how to work with this very different way of painting.

I have continued to take workshops through the Federation of Canadian Artists in Vancouver. They provide top-notch teachers and support art through their gallery on Granville Island. Through these workshops I have learned from Kiff Holland, Richard Nelson, and Alan Wylie, to date.

This past autumn, I took a plein air watercolour workshop with the Uraguayan painter Alvero Castagnet. This was a very exciting workshop, painting around Vancouver. Then to broaden my horizons, I took a mixed media workshop with Miranda Jones. This has provided me with the fundamentals to incorporate metallics into works.

I am interested in the idea of chiaroscuro, that is, the effect of light and dark, and I continue to explore how this can be depicted in paintings. I particularly enjoy painting still life and look for items in the landscape that are like a still life. I like to work both on site and in my little studio using photographs and sketches of objects and places I have discovered.

I was invited to participate in my first group show with the Sage Brushes, a Saskatoon painter’s group, in October 2004. I currently paint with the Artists' Workshop and Escape Artists groups.