My Story

Early years

My earliest memories are of wearing a tutu every day and tap dancing on the olive-green bathroom tiles. Growing up in a small town in South Carolina, I eagerly anticipated the annual dance school recital. From that moment on, all I ever wanted to do was dance. I put on “shows” for my family and twirled in front of the TV whenever Star Search was on.

After moving to Tallahassee, Florida, I found new creative outlets beyond dance—drawing, painting, cross-stitch, and polymer clay. I just wanted to make things. When Bob Ross came on TV, I set up my little table (handmade by my grandfather) with paints, water, and paper. It was fun, but my trees never quite looked like Bob’s “happy trees.” Later, as a teenager in small-town Tennessee, my grandmother taught me to sew. I even took a watercolor class, where I was the only student under 60.

Creativity surrounded me. My mom, an artist and collector, filled our home with paintings, sculptures, and books. She sketched the rooms in our house, sewed our clothes, and baked our birthday cakes from scratch. My dad—a pastor, historian, and storyteller—passed down a love for narratives. My grandmother mastered every artistic medium, from oil painting to blacksmithing, even exhibiting at the Hunter Museum in the 1980s. Creativity ran deep through generations of women in my family, from my great-aunts to my great-grandmother.

School Days

School never truly captured my interest, but give me an art project, like creating the solar system in various mediums, and I was all in. In seventh grade, I was given the chance to paint a Mardi Gras scene for our French class bulletin board—a moment that cemented my love for both art and the French language. Sleepovers with friends? I wanted to paint or draw. That was my idea of fun.

At 14, sitting in a Hardee’s with friends, I announced, “I want to be a wife, a mom, and an artist.” In high school, I was deeply passionate about French and art, even saving my money to take a trip to Paris with my French teacher and a few friends, but when the time came to choose a career, being an artist wasn’t seen as a viable option in the mid-'90s. So, I did what seemed practical—I pursued a degree. I graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a B.S. in Retail & Consumer Science and a Business Minor. I considered wedding planning but quickly realized it wasn’t for me. I worked in retail for a while, but art still tugged at my heart.

Marriage, Kids & Entrepreneurship

I fell in love, got married in 2001, and by 2006, I was a mom of two. Staying home to raise my children was a gift, and I spent those days as a stay-at-home mom using my creativity in making a home and making things for and with my kids. We settled down after several moves with my husband's job, and with my kids growing older and more independent, I started a creative business. I stuck with sewing because it felt safe, even though I longed to paint. For nearly 20 years, I struggled with a creative block when it came to painting, I painted in my journals and with my kids, but every time I tried to create something beyond those safe spaces, I hated the results. I felt stuck, unsure of what to paint and convinced that my work wasn’t “good enough.”

Then, in 2015—twenty years after high school—I finally picked up a canvas (that I had held on since my senior year art class) and painted. It was as if the floodgates had opened. The fear that had held me back for so long was diminishing. I knew I wanted to be a painter. Still, I kept running my sewing business—until the day I knew I couldn’t ignore painting any longer. I closed the business and started over, this time as an artist.

Painting Again

There were two hurdles I had to overcome: I didn’t like the way I painted, and I didn’t know what to paint. My style always felt childlike, and I was embarrassed that it didn’t look realistic or polished like the work of “real artists.” But I kept showing up, experimenting, and practicing. Eventually, I realized that my style was uniquely mine—and that was a good thing. I leaned into it, embracing my whimsical, illustrative approach.

As I paint more, patterns have emerged. I love creating art that tells a story. I’ve always been fascinated by homes, spaces, and memories—perhaps because I moved around a lot and lived in so many different places. Nostalgia is a driving force in my work. I'm naturally drawn to simpler times, heirloom objects, ordinary places, and fleeting moments that carry deep meaning. Every scene I paint has a story behind it.

It has taken me over 40 years to connect these pieces, but now I see them coming together in my art. My paintings celebrate the past, quiet moments, and the beauty of everyday life. They are warm, whimsical, and filled with meaning.

I believe we all have a story to tell. Let me help you tell yours—through paintings.

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