In college, I studied studio art and accounting. One was a lifelong passion, and one was a ticket to a steady paycheck. Perhaps you can guess which was which. :)

I spent several rewarding years with the FBI in Chicago investigating investment schemes and public corruption, dabbling in art in the margins of the day. During this time I mostly created art digitally, hand-drawing my images using a stylus and drawing tablet. I enjoyed it, and the lack of paint mess was a definite plus while raising small humans. However, as AI-generated imagery exploded, I increasingly craved more physical, tactile work. In 2025, I dusted off my easel and came back to painting with a renewed sense of awe around brush strokes, color, and light. 

I am drawn to the way light plays with color in the landscape. As I am an Illinois native with a love for the open prairie, woodland meadows, and Great Lakes shorelines, these feature heavily in my recent work. My paintings are all done on archival hardboard panels with the the highest quality acrylic paints.