I've always been an artist. When I was a kid, I loved to draw. In the summer, I'd draw in the dirt with a stick, or on the sidewalk with a stone. And I'd draw on any scrap of paper that had a blank side. I even cut open cereal boxes and drew on the inside of those. As a freelance artist, I still draw or paint on nearly anything - windows, walls, furniture, and statues. Most of the time I work in acrylic paints, colored pencil, or cut paper, but I like to experiment with anything that creates line or color. Sometimes I use more than one medium at a time.
I had a great time creating black and white line drawings for Luvella's Promise by Joan Foley Baier. I hope to get more illustration work in the book industry.
My first teachers were my parents. My father was a trained artist. He graduated from R.I.T.- it was the Mechanics Institute back then. He and my mother owned and ran Brewer-Hayes Studio on East Avenue in Rochester, NY. My father was the photographer. My mother was the color artist. There was no color film in those days, so she took notes to remind herself of exactly what the colors were. She could see the "outside" color (let's say brown) of what she was looking at, and the "inside" colors (a bit of blue added to the brown) that made it a special hue. It was my mother who taught me to "see" like an artist.
When I was a kid, I rode my bike to summer art lessons. In high school, I took as many art classes as my schedule would allow (2-3 different classes a day.) I graduated R.L.Thomas High school when I was 17 years old. By the time I was 18, I had my own apartment, car and job. (I was working as a nurse's aide at Genesee Hospital.) At this point I took college art classes. I was very young, and became intimidated by all the wonderful artists there. I decided to pursue my other interest, and became a registered nurse. This allowed me to pay my bills while I developed my art skills on the side. At 18 years old, I created art for printing companies, businesses, and private individuals. It's been the same ever since. I work some of the time as a nurse, and the rest as a freelance artist. I guess you could say I'm "ambi-brain-drous." And if my friends are reading this, I'm pretty sure they're rolling their eyes, and making an editorial comment or two about the way they think my brain works (or doesn't.) I love you too, guys.