An upright piano lived in the center of my grandmothers’ house. During most of the first twelve years of my life, music of all genres floated from the strings. My Aunt Mattie studied piano all of her life and played with abandon show tunes, popular tunes even the classics. I fell in love with Rachmaninoff. Eventually I played a little too.
In the painting studio, the space fills with show tunes, jazz, opera and the classics that inspire my painted creations. The paintings are a conversation of expressing the beauty in the extraordinary ordinary objects that have drifted from our vision due to overuse or monotony. I sing when I paint, singing moves me to paint. When you think about it, it makes sense to sing the ballads from the early 40’s. Reviving the beauty of the work of the post war era is as natural an expression as painting rusted teapots and buckets, my favorite subjects. Re-telling love stories in song connects the listener to the scene.
My influences are Nancy Wilson, Billie Holiday, Johnny Mathis, Nat King-Cole Sarah Vaughn, and Rebecca Parris. It has been a privileged to study with Jack Lasher, Harry James Williams, Reno Chalis, Rachel Drexler, Aayana Hobson and Daniel Jackson, my mentor.
