My husband Joe once wrote me a poem called The Osprey. This was about a year or so after we moved to the Connecticut shoreline. In the months since we’d moved I’d become - obsessed is the only way to put it - with ospreys. Ospreys are large migrating birds of prey whose sole diet consists of fish that they must dive for, in a never ending death-defying act, in a play that’s been going on since long before man appeared on stage. 

Humankind’s relationship with the natural world is something I think about all the time, and it is what drives my vision and my art. 

Blackpoll Warblers, that weigh less than a nickel, fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean during fall migration and absorb their own organs for energy. Could you imagine doing anything even approaching such a feat? And they do it without harming any other species. How can you not have anything but respect for such a badass animal?

My art has been a progression from super-realistic portraits of birds to semi-abstract pieces inspired by the colors and patterns of the natural world. In my latest works I utilize reactive metal paints to create dynamic images of life, change, beauty, and growth. These paints contain the elements iron and copper, which are then oxidized to create rust and patina. I am especially fascinated by the corrosion that takes place both within and out of my control. So much of our world we strive to control; we tend not to think about the temporary nature of our very existence. This medium, combined with additions like stenciling or gold leaf, enables me to create a little beauty amid the ruins of our time, a little order in the chaos. 

The Osprey

Monsieur and Madame Osprey

File their joint return

In April,

A sunny deadline.

The tender deadwood, taloned

Branch by branch to soften the romance,

Divining rods, maulsticks,

For this season’s masterwork.

She plunges a sinister eye,

Plunks a drunken bunker,

Plunder from below,

Roe to shore for a lover.

A fingerling to a darling babe,

Fledging a different path,

Two years, three,

To start their own golden brood.

~Joseph Whiting

 

Curriculum Vitae

Exhibitions

2018             Solo exhibition, Branford Art Center, Branford, CT 

2018             Lyme Art Association Juried Exhibition

2017             Whitney Center for the Arts Juried Exhibition

2017             Lyme Art Association Juried Marine Exhibition

2017             Essex Art Association Juried Spring Show

2017             Madison Art Society Juried Spring Show

2017             Friends & Co, two-person show, Madison, CT

2016             Guilford Art League Spring Show

2015-18       Branford Art Center, Branford, CT

2016-17       Bird Nest Gallery, Guilford, CT

2015             Salon, international summit of decorative artists, Lecce, IT

Recognition

2017             Winner, Moore Award, Essex Art Association

2016             Winner, People's Choice Award, Guilford Art League

2014             Featured in New Haven Independent

2013             Featured in Artisphere Magazine

2009             Featured artist, ID-Digest.com

Commissions of Note

2017             Stations of the Cross, 14 paintings for Saint Catherine of Siena, West Simsbury, CT

2017             Children's room mural, Fairfield Library, Fairfield, CT

2014             Large trompe l'oeil windows, Brewery Square, New Haven, CT

2012             Wood graining subcontractor for Yale University Art Gallery

2012             Designed and created a mural for the historic Quinnipiack Club, New Haven, CT

2009             Mural and decorative work for the Beecher Museum School, New Haven, CT

2008             On site work as decorative artist for Holland America Cruise Lines, Rotterdam, NL

Charitable and Community Involvement

2018, ongoing Creation and donation of original portraits done of babies at the Yale New Haven Children's Hospital NICU

2013-18       Participation and donation of artwork to the Leonardo Challenge, Eli Whitney Museum, Hamden, CT

2014             Donation of a mural for the pediatric short stay unit, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital

2014             Participating artist for Her Haven philanthropic organization creating art for the community

2013             Participation in the philanthropic mural project for the Payton Manning Children's Hospital, Indianapolis, IN

2012             Participation in the philanthropic Mural Project for Veterans, Reno, NV

2011-1         Donation of artwork to the Canvas Peace Project, empowering the women of South Sudan

Professional Affiliations

Shoreline Arts Alliance

Lyme Art Association

Essex Art Association

Madison Art Society

Salon, international summit of decorative artists

IDAL, International Decorative Artists’ League

Professional Experience

2003-Present        Owner, Artistic Finishes decorative painting. Creating site-specific murals, wall finishes, and other art. Working with designers, homeowners, churches and others, to provide decorative services throughout the Northeast.

Education

1985             B.A., Studio Art, SUNY Albany, Albany, NY