I acknowledge that I live on the traditional unceded Coast Salish territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) people. I was born in Cape Town, South Africa where I grew up in a natural environment. I always loved to draw and paint. In 1968, I immigrated to Canada. After retiring in 2007, I returned to my original passion by taking a Beginners Class in acrylics with Andrew Hamilton at the McKay Art Centre in Unionville, Ontario, and later with Don Cavon. In 2011, I moved to Vancouver where I subsequently took courses with Andrew McDermott, Mike Svob, Alfonso Tejada, Liz Wiltzen, and Perry Haddock. Susanne Kestner-Aiello invited me to join her group of Vancouver plein air artists in 2012, and I continue to paint with them on a regular basis. I am Chair of the West End Gogos, a group of committed grandmothers and ‘grand-others’ who fundraise in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign. This organization supports grandmothers in fifteen sub-Saharan countries who care for their grandchildren whose parents have died from the HIV/AIDS pandemic. I contribute the sale of my paintings to the Grandmothers Campaign. British Columbia’s beautiful surroundings and the drama of light and shadows, continually inspire me and I enjoy creating vibrant paintings.
