I’ve always loved drawing, painting, and various other media, but didn’t pursue formal training until later in life. One of my children persuaded me to take an evening drawing course at a local university and it immediately turned into the highlight of my week. Within a year, I was lucky enough to be accepted at the Texas Academy of Figurative Art (TAFA) a four-year classical realism atelier program. I loved every cold – and hot – moment in that drafty warehouse converted into an art school. Additionally, I pursued an amazing opportunity to go to Barcelona in the summer of 2017, to experience figure/portrait sketching and painting at the Barcelona Atelier of Realist Art during the day, followed by leisurely tapas with a glass of wine! Since completing both the drawing and painting programs at TAFA, I’ve continued my art in my home studio, focusing primarily on portraits, both human and animal, still life, and an occasional landscape thrown in for fun. The majority of my work is oil on canvas, either cotton or linen, with some work in graphite or colored pencils.