About Me

♥ Fine-art & nature photography and portraits • Original paintings • Multi-media & collage paintings • Decoupage art • Illustrative drawings & design • Folk & primitive art • Graphic art & design • Polymer clay creations • Creative writing & blogging • Jewelry design • Herbal bath, body, teas & oils • Nature art ♥

I'm a "multi-tasking" artist. I'm a nature, fine-art, stock & portrait photographer. I'm a fiction & non-fiction writer (and blogger). At times, I think I may be a poet. I'm a painter & a drawer who uses watercolors, oils, acrylics, colored pencils, graphite pencils, artist pens, crayons, markers, and a computer pen & tablet. I'm a designer of graphic art, jewelry art, polymer clay art, multi-media art, collage art, and decoupage art. I'm a nature girl creating herbal bath & body products, organic tea blends & herbal oils, and pressed flower art & other nature [hand]made art works. To try & distinguish my styles, I've opened a few online shops and publish nichè blogs.

I realized I just had to be an artist when I grew up when I was 2-years-old (thanks to my trusty box of crayons). Since, I have dabbled in a whole bunch of art forms. From acting to ballet to singing to sewing & crocheting to baking to sculpting to designing floor plans to decorating; and the list goes on. I have always needed to create art – whether using a pencil, pen, crayon, marker, camera, glue, glitter, brush or baking pan. I just love art, in all forms.

I won my first art contest (drawing) when I was 9-years-old. I photographed my first landscape scenes & pet portraits when I was 10-years-old. During my teen years, I had artworks (sculptures & paintings) displayed in museums, and I created holiday window displays for a local business. When I was 19-years-old, I shot my first wedding, and a few years later I began shooting weddings and children, high school senior, family, engagement, maternity/newborn, and pet portraits for clients on a regular basis. After my daughter was born, I began to focus more on fine-art & nature photography; and I started working on-spec & on-assignment for publications; suppling both written articles & photographs.

My work (artwork & writing) has been published nationally & internationally in print magazines such as I Love Cats, National Geographic KIDS, An Honest Tune, HIGH TIMES, Roots & Wings, Backhome Magazine, The World & I, Keynoter, Hard Hat News, Campersway and more – online at ProgressiveEngineer.com, LeslieWest.com, RiversAndStreams.com, BookStoreCool.com and more. Throughout the years I've had my work displayed in museums, art shows and medium & small businesses; I've won numerous awards for my works of art; and I've had the opportunity to meet, work with, interview, and photograph some amazing people (other artists & writers, editors, musicians, exotic animals, animal lovers & tree-huggers, and business owners). Along with the opportunity to travel to cool places, and photograph some awesome landscapes, and subjects. I also made great friends because of the portrait services I have offered; children, engagement, high school seniors, family, and I even covered wedding photography at one time.

Currently, I license my artwork through several stock agencies and I sell items featuring my artworks & designs, my jewelry, and my natural product arts & crafts at my online shops. From time to time I still submit my artwork for publication in print magazines. I run a few blogs where I continue to write fiction & non-fiction pieces; and where I blog, just plain simple blogging. My writing can also be seen at a few, select online sites; and, at times, I still write for various print publications. My portrait photography services specialize in pet & people fine-art portraiture, and an occasional model, musician, or entertainer portrait from time to time. I persist to create art everyday – whether using a pen, pencil, crayon, marker, camera, typewriter, computer, glue, glitter, brush, baking pan....or toothbrush (the best mic every).

I admire the work of Eric Condida, Casandra M. Secor, Ansel Adams, Galen Rowell, Sam Abell, Jodi Cobb, Joel Sartore, Amanda Jones, Anne Geddes, Annie Leibovitz, Annie Griffiths Belt, Julia Bailey, Bev Hollis, Michael "Nick" Nichols, Alois Beer, Art Wolfe, Edward Weston, Sarah Gardner, Georgia O'Keeffe, John Singer Sargent, John William Waterhouse, Joshua Reynolds, Marcel Duchamp, Vincent van Gogh, Alfred Kubin, Velko Geurgevich, Norman Rockwell, Alphonse Mucha, Claude Monet, Bram Stoker, Zane Grey, John Saul, Mary Shelley, Christopher Moore, Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall, Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull and more.

{useless but interesting info about me}