While completing my Bachelor of Education at the University of Alberta, I majored in fine arts and loved the time spent in the studio. After many years of focusing on my career, I returned to my art. I am influenced by the Group of Seven, particularly the spirituality of Harris’s mountains, the complexity of MacDonald’s and the dynamic colours of Varley’s. Tom Thomson, Emily Carr and Walter Phillips are other strong Canadian influences. I have always loved the Impressionists, particularly Monet and Cezanne, and the remarkable ways light permeates their work. I am awed by the beauty of nature, and have been absorbed by the challenges of capturing that beauty in watercolour, acrylic or mixed media.