The most important aspect of a painting is that the artwork is based on an original idea.  An original idea is one conceived of by the artist through something they have seen or experienced, felt or imagined.  The ideas for my paintings come from the wildlife I have seen and observed. My style of painting is realistic, impressionistic or illustrative, depending on the subject matter. My reference material is collected through my photography, onsite sketching, keeping a journal, and collecting specimens of plants. My paintings are composed of long, graceful lines and bold, rich colors. I paint, using acrylics on Masonite, vintage handsaws that I find at flea markets and on vertical-cut Pennsylvania hardwoods that have been chiseled, re-cut, sanded, shaped and finished by my husband, Joe. We have combined our areas of study and expertise of painting and woodworking to create custom designed wooden plaques. The plaques are fashioned from vertical and bias cut, furniture-grade hardwood lumber that has been aged and kiln dried. Joe takes the rough- cut lumber and then re-cuts, shapes and sands the individual pieces to create a unique ‘canvas’ for me to paint an original wildlife portrait or scene. The artwork is sealed front and back with several coats of  satin polyurethane finish and fitted with heavy duty hardware for hanging.