My first fine-art painting success came when I won an award at the Illinois State Fair with a 10-foot X 5-foot acrylic painting of plants. The painting grew out of numerous sketches and studies I had done at a local botanical garden. It was my first "plein air" painting (open-air painting) experience, and I have dedicated myself to painting on-site ever since. I can be seen painting along the back roads of the Monterey Peninsula, in Carmel Valley, at Garland Ranch, and anywhere there isn't poison oak. I've even gone as far as the South Carolina to paint swamps. Actually, swamps and marshes are my favorite places to paint. My second love is portrait painting, pets or people. I tried to paint portraits of my three children, but they found it hard to sit still and it was a "Gong" show at best. They turned out well nevertheless: two became nurses and the third is an officer in the Coast Guard. I earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Kansas City Art Institute with a major in painting. I continued my studies at the Oakland School of Arts and Crafts. My work can be seen at the Carmel Valley Arts Association Gallery.