I paint what my heart sees and what has made me who I am. I love the waters of WNC --the lakes, rivers, waterfalls and coves, as well as the coastal regions. As a child, I could spend a day damming up “Sumner’s Creek” and plucking tadpoles and lizards from the clear water that eventually flowed into the French Broad River. I floated, fished and swam in the French Broad River before it was the “in” thing to do. And I’ve scattered ashes into its emerald waters.

Summers spent on Fontana Lake are a part of me. The mirrored surface of the lake is perfect for water skiing and skinny-dipping beneath a full moon is an experience I don’t pass up. I’ve seen helicopters scoop up huge buckets of water to fight blazes and I’ve seen the spillways opened spewing water hundreds of feet into the air to prevent flooding.

I’ve played in the surf of Carolina beaches and dug for shells in tide pools with my toes. I’ve enjoyed the gentle relaxing ocean waves but also know first hand what a force of nature its currents can be.