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I live in Trinidad, on the California Northcoast, an exceptionally beautiful area with beaches, giant redwoods and marshlands. Recently, I’ve had the good fortune of living in another of the world’s most beautiful places: the Big Island of Hawaii. For me, these two places share the best of beauty, culture and people--perfect for art and life. Growing up in a family passionately in love with the outdoors, I spent much of my childhoodtrekking cross country through the Sierra Nevadas, aided by topography maps and the rock (ducks) markers scattered along the ranges. At the time the lemon drops used to entice us to the next ridge were poor compensation for the heavy pack and altitude sickness. It took me years to appreciate how being surrounded by such beauty had shaped the way I see and respond to nature. My father’s parents were from Norway, and my mother was born in Indonesia and raised in the Netherlands during W.W.II. My parents raised us with many of their European traditions, in particular, their love of the arts. The Big Island connection came from my husbands’ parents who lived in Hawaii in the 70s. My first trip to Hawaii in 1976 was the beginning of a lifelong yearning to return, which we did, just about every five years. In 2003, after working hard for our Hawaiian dream, we bought a modest home with a great view and equally important, a huge lanai for painting. In 1972 I attended Humboldt State University as an art major with an emphasis in ceramics and jewelry. During my fifth year of college, I earned a teaching credential and met a first-year English teacher (with a Dutch last name) and married the following year. We built a house in the redwoods and survived the experience. In 1978 I enrolled in an outdoor watercolor class taught by Bob Benson. I found myself in awe of where we lived and relished the opportunity to be outside in nature, after being confined to indoor art labs for four years. The experience of painting on location for hours, getting to know the sounds, smells, temperature and color changes, quickly became an obsession. I began taking workshops from top professional artists from across the country including George Post, Dong Kingman and Milford Zornes from the California School of Watercolor. In 1988, I was unanimously approved as a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society (one of approx... 600 in the U.S.). In 1989 I was awarded a grant from the California Arts council as an Artist in Residence to work at Trinidad and Big Lagoon schools. I was honored to receive the California Artist in Residence grant seven times, for a total of nine years of funding. My work has been added to permanent collections at College of the Redwoods in Eureka, Sutter Coast Hospital in Crescent City, and Mad River Hospital in Arcata, California. The children, teachers and friends I paint with everyday help remind me of the simple wonders of mixing color, creating texture and expressing a fresh view of life. The most rewarding comment I continue to hear from my students and from people who have purchased my paintings is “You’ve changed the way I see.” |