For years it was an idea. Someday . . . When we retire . . .  When the kids move away . . .  We’ll travel the country in an RV.

For the last two years we measured and sawed and drilled and soldered, we bolted and screwed and hammered and sanded, and put more than a little blood, sweat, and yes, tears, into making our dream tiny home on wheels. We’ve got the skinned knuckles, sore shoulders, and bruised knees to prove it. 

And for the last two weeks 

Seven years ago, my husband Joe and I did a little downsizing when we moved from our home in Hamden to a condo in Branford. Well, this year we are taking downsizing to a whole new level.

As many of you know, Joe and I are planning to live and travel in our self-converted tiny home, aka skoolie, named Sandy. Moving from 1100 square feet into 100 square feet requires some pretty serious minimizing, and we are up to the task!

Happy 2021! Here’s hoping it’s better than 2020. I for one, plan to make it my year. Joe and I are completing work on our self-converted skoolie named Sandy. In between work, and trying not to catch a deadly virus, we’ve been putting the finishing touches 

Someday is not a word I use often. I figure, if you always wanted to do something “someday” then you should do it today, because someday is just another word for never. 

It all started 23 years ago when I told Joe, “Someday I want to get a motorcycle.” To which he said,

When I painted “Rusty Zebra” back in 2015, I had just discovered this amazing oxidizing paint that created real rust in all its varying shades. I loved the way the warm rust looked against the stark black and white of the zebra. Since then I have created many works using these reactive metal paints. I’ve learned how different conditions affect the way the paint oxidizes. 

Outside of the studio, 

I have a ton of paintings I have to clear out of my studio. And people like my nephews Tom and Craig, who are on the front lines of fighting Covid-19 need personal protective equipment. How are these two things related? 
 

When I was little, I used to imagine being alone on a boat out at sea. I would imagine my adventures as I navigated the angry ocean waters, with no one to rely on but myself. As I write this I am not quite stranded, not quite alone, and not at sea, but isolated nonetheless

How many stories does one tube of paint tell? How many stories have I painted with a single paint brush? 

When I was a child, my family and I would camp every summer on the Neversink River in the Catskill Mountains. All those lazy days we would spend floating in tubes in the frigid water

When my daughter, Natalie, was a high school senior, she wanted to go to Chicago to visit her first choice college, the University of Chicago. I agreed to take her because, not only was U of Chicago a top school, it would be fun to visit the city. 

We flew out there in February. 

The first thing about Chicago is 

In April of 2017, my husband Joe and I stayed in an adorable Airbnb in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. It was our home base for a week while we 

I don't know whether it was Vincent Van Gogh or Edvard Munch who said, "The only time I feel alive is when I'm painting."

Since I’ve been recovering from shoulder surgery, I haven’t been able to paint in my studio, and it's been killing me. But I have been able to “paint” on my 

One week ago today, a highly skilled surgeon, AKA my angel, put some tools and scopes and things into tiny holes in my shoulder and fixed a tear on my rotator cuff. Sixteen years of overhead work painting, plastering, stenciling, and otherwise beautifying ceilings and walls had taken its toll.

While I sit here with my arm in a sling unable to do anything with my right arm, 

I never didn’t have a pet. Growing up, we had first Sandy, and then Bones. A mutt and a German Shepard, respectively. And we always had cats. When Bones was a tiny puppy he used to like to sleep under the china cabinet. I don’t think he ever fully realized how big he got. Even at 100 pounds, he 

When I was in fourth grade I wanted to have a boyfriend like my older sister did. Too old for the bulk Valentines you give your whole class in first grade, and too young for an actual boyfriend, I was left making a homemade Valentine for my cat.  

Well, whoever your special Valentine is, you can give a meaningful and original gift of art. And I'm making it easy for you with a sale on all my art! Candy? Gone by the next day. Flowers? Wilted and brown by the weekend. An original painting or fine art print will last for the duration!

From now until February 14, take 20% off all prints, originals and gift cards ordered from my website. 

Need a little help? Check out my gift guide.

Happy New Year! 2019 is almost upon us, and with the new year, I bring you new art. I'm getting back to my art school roots with figure studies. I remember many a winter afternoon spent in the sanctuary of the art studio while the Albany winds blew through campus. Hours went by like minutes as we sketched our models, learning from one another about foreshortening, and the most difficult parts of the human figure to draw...

Back in 1989 a tornado tore through our hometown of Hamden, CT, leaving a half mile wide path of devastation. Homes in the Newhallville neighborhood were completely destroyed. The thing that people remembered from that day was how the sky turned from blue to gray, to a sickening shade of green. 

Then, in May, 2018,

When my kids were little we adopted a dog. From the New Haven dog pound, she was what you'd call politely, a mixed-breed. More accurately, a mutt. Roxy was a loyal, devoted companion. She loved to hike in the woods. And she got to hike many trails with us, from the Sleeping Giant in Connecticut to the ocean side trails of Acadia, Maine.

I would love to say I was her favorite hiking companion. But in reality, 

When I was 23 or 24, my boyfriend and I received a gift from his dad. Now, this was a man who was known for more than the occasional impulse purchase. So when we arrived at his house in Connecticut to find 

When I was 25, my husband Joe bought me a bicycle for Christmas. At the time, I worked nights and he worked during the day, so we didn’t see each other much. So, on Christmas Eve, when I got home from work at 3:00 am and made my way to bed, I sensed 

Among my favorite subjects to paint are animals and birds. Whimsical animals, beautiful animals, bad-ass animals. I love them all. My painting "Giraffe with Bird" was painted as a commission for a fellow animal lover. She and I share a respect of species who have to do more in a day just to survive than we'll do in a lifetime. Take the bar-tailed godwit, for example

When I first saw my cousin Bart Lentini's photographs of abandoned places, I knew I had to create my own interpretation of these compelling images. There is something mystical about an image of a once bustling location that is now left in ruins. A hospital emergency room with all the tools of urgent life-saving, now a substrate for a different kind of life. Factory walls now covered in mold. An abandoned prison, now home to a lake of

In the winter of 2017 I had the privilege and the honor of creating the fourteen large paintings for Saint Catherine of Siena parish in West Simsbury, CT. Father Michael Whyte commissioned me to update the Stations of the Cross for his contemporary Catholic church. The Saint Catherine congregation was instrumental in bringing this about with their donations. Father Michael is well loved by his flock - one even donated a kidney when ...

When a tornado tore through Connecticut in May 2018, one of its victims was Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden. A favorite hiking spot, this beautiful mountain was forever changed. 

The Brook at Stowe Hill

All my landscapes, whether realistic or abstract, are inspired by actual places. Last winter my husband Joe and I spent some . . . 

Learn to use reactive metal paints in your artwork. In this all day workshop, we will use Modern Masters Metal Effects to create real rust and patina. In combination with acrylic paints, this method will 

As many of my friends know, I hold a special place in my heart for ospreys, and have uber-respect for all birds. Three of my paintings, including "Fresh Catch," and several prints will be auctioned off at a fundraising event held by the Menunkatuck Audubon Society (a local chapter of the National Audubon Society) on Thursday, October 25 at a very special event...

You are invited to an open house at my studio Sunday, October 7, 2018. Come see what I’ve been working on, enter for a chance to win a signed print, and enjoy some snacks and wine! 

If you’ve ever wanted to learn to paint abstract landscapes, then please consider joining me October 5, in Estes Park, Colorado. I will be teaching a one-day workshop on this style that I have found to be quite satisfying.

Stations of the Cross Presentation and Reception 

I recently had the honor and the privilege to paint the 14 Stations of the Cross for Saint Catherine of Siena in Simsbury, Conn. Father Michael Whyte commissioned a modern rendering of the Stations that would complement the church’s minimal aesthetic, yet embody the passion of Christ’s final journey. After several sketches and studies, 

They are all things that I love. For me, there is almost nothing better than leaning through a turn on a curvy mountain road. The sound of the engine, the smell of the ocean, the feeling of freedom. I've been lucky enough to ride my motorcycle through some of the most beautiful places imaginable. These trips are the inspiration for many of my paintings.

Last April, Joe and I 

I took the road less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.

15 years ago I left my job as a structural drafter to pursue the life of an entrepreneur. On the one hand, I  would no longer know where my next paycheck would come from, but on the other hand, I would be working 70 to 80 hours a week. Yay!

It's been a lot of work, but so worth it. I get to do what I love every day. And with each new project comes 

I've been working on all sorts of fun little beautiful things that are perfect for gift giving. Holiday art gifts? I've got them. I have a variety of shiny acrylic poured coasters. These little gems have the colorful luminosity of poured acrylic, coated with 

Well I finally painted my studio for City Wide Open Studios, happening this weekend at Erector Square in New Haven. On my nice new white walls I have hung a bunch of my recent work. And, oh my, there is 

Birds in Art. I am inspired by the natural world all around me. But I have a particular fondness for birds. I paint my fair share of blue birds and warblers, but I especially love the raptors. Owls, eagles and hawks are impressive animals. But my favorite subject to paint is the osprey. And here on the Southern Connecticut Shoreline, there are many! The Osprey is the only raptor that 

Landscape paintings and shore scenes are popular subjects for my semi-abstract paintings. The Connecticut shoreline and the Maine coast figure prominently because they are places I find to be calming and healing. Marsh birds like egrets and herons make an appearance often, as do ospreys and owls. Marsh grasses hide secrets in their amber and ochre waves and water peeks out among the reeds at high tide, reflecting the sky. 

For my landscapes I use 

I recently had three of my mixed media paintings in reactive metal paints accepted into two separate juried exhibitions. My “Cold Mountain” was shown at the Madison Art Society’s annual member show at the Scranton Library in Madison, CT. This piece uses rusted iron paint, as well as 

I am constantly inspired by the variety of nature all around me, and in particular, water. Water in art - rivers, lakes, and ponds, all help to add another dimension to a painting. I don’t know if it is because the water reflects the sky. Or maybe because we come from water. But it seems to me to add a certain comfort and calm to a piece of art. From the Maine Coast to the Connecticut shoreline, the Vermont woods to New Hampshire's White Mountains, I never tire of a good water scene. Here is a recent series of works showcasing the transcendent beauty of water in art. Media used include pastels, watercolor and . . .

Much of my inspiration comes from the natural world. I love hiking the woods and shore trails of coastal Connecticut and the mountains of New Hampshire. I recently had the good fortune to experience the unusual beauty of the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. 

“Smoky Mountain Path" is an award winning painting in my reactive metals series, inspired by my visit there. The paintings in this series use a unique 

I recently had the honor and the privilege to paint the 14 Stations of the Cross for Saint Catherine of Siena in Simsbury, Conn. Father Michael Whyte approached me and asked if I could create a modern rendition of the Stations that would be minimal, yet intense and moving. I made several sketches to determine just what Father Whyte was looking for. The result is a series