I elevate the aging body as something beautiful, sexy, strong, virile and resilient .  Society  commercializes bodies and the emphasis is on staying young. As a middle aged woman I am bombarded on a daily basis with ways to defy aging. In my art I portray realistic body types of older people as it is important not to airbrush the realities of aging and to push back on the notion that such bodies are not as valuable as that of a younger person.  I do this by approaching my subjects with honesty, sensitivity and kindness and with a sense of humor.

My collection pairs nude portraits of older people with fruit as I explore the relationship fruit has had throughout art history and in popular culture as a  symbol for an underlying message, connected to sexuality, fertility, power, life and death.

Light and color greatly influence my art.  Since moving to SoCal from the UK I notice how pigments are intensified here.  I transfer that enhanced color into my paintings to make them bolder and eye popping. I’m intrigued by the myriad of hues and tones and how they work for and against each other so apparent in nature, to capture the viewer’s attention.