Through the use of positive and negative space, motion and subject matter, I explore the infinite possibilities of gastronomic whimsy in my surreal realistic acrylic paintings.

My paintings center around motion. The goal is to completely capture the viewer’s attention enough that they become caught up in the moment, sufficiently engaged that the results of movement are fully imagined. The subject matter is manipulated by allowing the observer to complete the actions that have been initiated. In other words, the viewer becomes a very real part of the process of creating or eliciting an emotional response.

As I has come to realize over the years, engagement is itself the definition of art.

Studio

I can be found painting and displaying my work in Studio 15b, McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville VA

Galleries

Select work is available at:

Touchstone Gallery
Member Artist
901 New York Avenue NW, Washington DC

Red Fish Gallery
81 King Carter Drive, Irvington, VA

Glavé Kocen
Richmond, Virginia

Awards & Residencies

• Award of Excellence NOAPS, Best of America Small Painting, Mary Williams Fine Art Gallery, Colorado, 2023
• Fellow, Virginia Center for Creative Arts (VCCA), Artist Residency, Amherst, VA, 2022
• Fourth Place Award 9th Annual International Online Exhibition, International Society of Acrylic Painters, 2018
• Award of Excellence and People’s Choice Award Gloucester Arts Festival, Arts on Main, Gloucester, VA, 2018
• Third Place Award Appetite for Art, Juried Exhibition, The Capitol Hill Art League, Washington DC, 2016
• Noteworthy Recognition Water-2016, Colors of Humanity Art Gallery, online juried exhibition, 2016

Exhibitions

2025
• The International Guild of Realism 19th Annual Exhibition, Sugarman-Peterson Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2024

• NOAPS, Best of America 2024, Beverly McNeil Gallery, Birmingham, AL, October 2024
• Teeny Tiny Trifecta 7, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville VA, September 2024
• Acrylic International Biennial Exhibition, Kenosha Public Museum, Kenosha Wisconsin, August 2024
• NOAPS, Best of America Small Works International Juried Show, Sugarman-Peterson Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
• American Woman Artists 2024 Online Juried Show
• Richeson75: Still Life and Floral 2024, Finalist
• The International Guild of Realism 18th Annual Exhibition, Brennen Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ
• Annual Small Works Exhibition, Glave Kocen Gallery, Richmond VA

2023

• Looking Small, Thinking Big, Piedmont Virginia Community College, Charlottesville VA
• Teeny Tiny Trifecta 6, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville VA
• Delectable, d’Art Center, Norfolk VA
• The International Guild of Realism 17th Annual Exhibition, Sugarman-Peterson Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
• Award of Excellence NOAPS, Best of America Small Painting, Mary Williams Fine Art Gallery, Colorado
• Annual Small Works Exhibition, Glave Kocen Gallery, Richmond VA
• Artfields 2023, Lake City SC

2022

• The 2022 Fall Salon Online Exhibition, International Guild of Realism
• Teeny Tiny Trifecta 5, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville VA
• The International Guild of Realism 16th Annual Exhibition, McBride Gallery, Annapolis MD
• Served with Abandon, Solo Exhibition, Touchstone Gallery, Washington DC
• Breaking Through: The Rise of American Women Artists, AWA, Customs House Museum, TN
• Homeward Bound, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA
• Annual SIZE DOESN'T MATTER Virtual Exhibition, Glave Kocen Gallery, Richmond VA

2021

• NOAPS, The Dana Gallery, Missoula MT
• Touch, Strathmore Juried Exhibition, Washington DC
• Teeny Tiny Trifecta 4, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville VA
• The 2021 Fall Salon Online Exhibition, International Guild of Realism
• "Put a Bird on It "Virtual Exhibition, Glave Kocen Gallery, Richmond VA
• The 2021 Spring Salon Online Exhibition, International Guild of Realism

2020

• International Guild of Realism 15th Annual Juried Exhibition, Principle Gallery, Charleston, SC
• Silver Service, Virtual Exhibit, Touchstone Gallery
• Teeny Tiny Trifecta 3, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville VA
• Food for Thought, Maryland Federation of Art, Curve Gallery Online Exhibition
• WE WILL SURVIVE Online Fundraiser for HOME AGAIN, Glave Kocen Gallery
• The 2020 Spring Salon Online Exhibition, International Guild of Realism
• Home, Strathmore Juried Exhibition, Washington DC
• 13th Annual SIZE DOESN'T MATTER Exhibit, Glave Kocen Gallery, Richmond VA

2019

• SuperFine, Touchstone Gallery,Washington DC
• Freedom, Art as the Messenger, Cato Institute, Washington DC
• The 7th Annual Alchemical Vessels Exhibition and Benefit, Joan Hisaoka Gallery, Washington DC
• Hung Jury, Glave Kocen Gallery, Richmond VA
• New Member Show, McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville VA

2018

• Art at the Mill, Clarke County Historical Association, Berryville VA
• Fourth Place Award 9th Annual Open International Online Exhibition, International Society of Acrylic Painters
• Award of Excellence and People’s Choice Award Gloucester Arts Festival, Arts on Main, Gloucester, VA
• Feast of Fancy, Spotlight Art Series, Touchstone Gallery, Washington DC
• 10 Year Anniversary, Group Exhibition, 1st Stage, Tysons, VA
• Food, www.buyrvaart.com, Richmond VA
• Open Exhibit, The Art League, Alexandria VA

2017

• To See a Song, Gallery O on H, Washington DC
• Hill Center Regional Juried Exhibition, Hill Center Galleries, Washington DC
• Through the Looking Glass, Del Ray Artisans, Alexandria, VA
• Vessels, Juried Exhibition, The Capitol Hill Art League, Washington DC
• La Vie en Bleu, 26th Annual Strathmore Juried Exhibition

2016

• A Modern Fusion of Whimsy and Reality, Solo Exhibition, 1st Stage, Tysons, VA
• Third Place Award Appetite for Art, Juried Exhibition, The Capitol Hill Art League, Washington DC
• Noteworthy Recognition Water-2016, Colors of Humanity Art Gallery, online juried exhibition
• Hill Center Regional Juried Exhibition, Hill Center Galleries, Washington DC