People ask me all the time “why dogs”?  Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang have been favorites of mine since I was a child, so my fascination with dogs started early.  I was drawing Snoopy on everything at that time, so my father wrote to Charles Schulz, the cartoonist responsible for Snoopy, about my obsession with his little dog.  I received a letter back from him that is one of my favorite possessions, hand signed circa 1976.

Upon graduating from the University of South Carolina with a degree in art studio, I moved to Manhattan and took classes at Pratt.  After several years working as a graphic artist, I decided to pursue my first love of drawing and painting.  I often use my graphic background to make my compositions stand out.

Finding a connection with dogs has been easy for me, as I am drawn to their honesty, desire to please, and lack of pretension.  I prefer painting dogs to people because of these very qualities that I admire.  I look to Pet adoption sites for inspiration, and enjoy supporting the underdog in my work as well as the “purebred”.  I find beauty in strays, seniors, mutts or shelter pups.  They are all worthy subjects to me.

I think dogs take the edge off any setting, whether depicted in a painting, or sitting on your sofa.  Not to mention that they are very easy to work with.  Above all, I hope to give dogs a voice through my paintings and drawings.

Recently, my work was featured in the NY Post, and in the HGTV Green Home.  I have completed many commissions throughout the United States and will continue to feature dogs as the focus of my work.