I have always wanted to be an artist.
I have also always loved painting detail. My Grandma had a drawing of a pilgrim that I did when I was four years old. He had shoelaces, buttonholes, and I even included the teeth on the zipper of his pants. I went through pages and pages of leftover worksheets from her classroom, using the backs as drawing paper.
My dad was from Vienna, so I spent many childhood hours in museums. I was always drawn to the nature and flower paintings. One day when I was six, after we visited the museum, I got to choose a postcard from the museum gift shop (I do love museum gift shops). I chose Albrecht Dürer's painting "Bouquet of Violets" and hung it on my bulletin board. I still have that postcard on my bulletin board. I would marvel at how a little bouquet of violets could be so beautiful. Although I didn't realize it at the time, the "wavy paper" it was painted on was actually vellum, so my love of vellum started then too. Whenever I return to Vienna, I always take time to visit that little painting.
In high school, I took as many art classes as I possibly could. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mr. Pearson, my high school art teacher (and book illustrator). In a time where abstract art was popular and a huge part of the curriculum, he allowed me to paint and draw realistically, introducing me to the detailed pen and ink work of Howard Pyle.
I attended the College of Visual Arts in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and earned a degree in Graphic Design and Illustration. After graduation, I worked in the graphics department at Mayo Clinic, opened my own freelance graphic design business, worked for the Dyslexia Institute of Minnesota, and most recently, worked for the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) as both Executive Director and as Annual Meeting & Program Coordinator.
In 2020, I resigned from ASBA to concentrate on my painting and to go back to my childhood dream of being an artist.
If you want to read more about me, please go to https://asba-art.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=92618&module_id=528503
Group Exhibitions
The 26th Annual International Juried Botanical Art Exhibition presented by The American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art & Garden Center, Ross, California 2023 [exhibition catalog]
"Abundant Future: Cultivating Diversity in Garden, Farm, and Field", Fourth New York Botanical Garden Triennial Exhibition, NewYork, New York 2020 (juror artwork) [exhibition catalog]
"ASBA Small Works Exhibition", St. Louis, Missouri 2018, People's Choice Award [exhibition catalog]
The 20th Annual International Juried Botanical Art Exhibition presented by The American Society of Botanical Artists and The Horticultural Society of New York, New York 2017 [exhibition catalog]
The 18th Annual International Juried Botanical Art Exhibition presented by The American Society of Botanical Artists and The Horticultural Society of New York, New York 2015 [exhibition catalog]
The 17th Annual International Juried Botanical Art Exhibition presented by The American Society of Botanical Artists and The Horticultural Society of New York, New York 2014 [exhibition catalog]
"The Magnified Eye: Contemporary Botanical Portraiture" Watercolors and Drawings on Paper and Vellum, Presented by Susan Frei Nathan Fine Works on Paper in conjunction with Diane Birdsall Gallery, Old Lyme, Connecticut, 2014
“Weird, Wild and Wonderful”, Second New York Botanical Garden Triennial Exhibition, New York, New York 2014
14th Annual International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration, The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 2013 [exhibition catalog]
The 16th Annual International Juried Botanical Art Exhibition presented by The American Society of Botanical Artists and The Horticultural Society of New York, New York 2013, New York Central Award [exhibition catalog]
“What We Collect: Recent Art Acquisitions 2007-2012”, The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 2013
"The Magnified Eye: Contemporary Botanical Portraiture" Watercolors and Drawings on Paper and Vellum by Thirteen Artists Around the Globe, Presented by the Reeves-Reed Arboretum and Susan Frei Nathan Fine Works on Paper 2012
The Royal Horticultural Society, London, March 2011, Silver-Gilt Medal
“Focus on Nature XI” New York State Museum, Albany, New York, New York 2010 [online exhibition catalog]
Awards
2015 - ASBA Diane Bouchier Artist Award for Excellence in Botanical Art
2011 - Silver-Gilt Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society "The Hazelnuts of Badgersett Research Farm"
I am represented by Susan Frei Nathan Fine Works on Paper.
My work is in the following galleries:
James Krom Natural Images (jameskromnaturalimages.com), Rochester, Minnesota
Riverwood Art & Frame (riverwoodartandframe.com), Eau Claire, Wisconsin
SEMVA Art Gallery (semva.com), Rochester, Minnesota
