Let’s start from the beginning! Tell us a little about the journey that led you to where you are now.

I was a creative kid, but privately. My art practice was a quiet and safe way of processing after school, or getting space from my 5 brothers and sisters. After high school, I attended both undergrad and culinary school — ultimately not finishing either program. For years I carried real embarrassment about that. Now I look back and feel something closer to pride. Walking away from something I realized wasn’t right for me took courage I didn’t know how to give myself credit for at the time. I always kept some creative thread alive, but about 10-12 years ago, I started painting again for the first time since childhood and something clicked into focus. The vision for what I wanted to pursue became clearer, and I’ve been developing my voice and expression ever since.

You’re known for your expressive brush strokes, serene color palette, and exploration of movement – How would you describe your artistic style and the philosophy that guides your work?

I would describe my style as abstract impressionism. Leaning more abstract or impressionistic depending on my end goal!

My own internal world guides my work. I want my work to be very honest and true to who I am. I am led by instinct and pay very close attention to what catches my eye and my heart. If something moves me visually or emotionally, I follow it.

You’ve described your paintings as a dialogue between both the artist and canvas and the viewer and their own imagination – how do these two relationships intersect, and what role does the viewer ultimately play in completing the work?

The viewer’s role, I think, is one of permission. Giving themselves permission to feel something, and then letting themselves sit with it. My hope is that my work speaks to universal feelings without being specific enough to crowd out someone else’s meaning. I give hints about what a painting means to me, but I want people to find their own ownership in it, to have the work mean something unique to them.

For example, my upcoming show is titled ‘Field of Dreams’. We all have dreams. Some we’ve nearly forgotten; others we’re chasing with everything we have. Each painting in the show explores a different facet of what it feels like to hold a dream — joy, grief, confidence, hope, and the vulnerability underneath all of it.

What inspires you? What factors have influenced your style of art?

Gosh, everything! My own emotional world is a big source of inspiration for me. I feel things very deeply. I am moved by music, my family, nature, and pretty much every art form. Where I’ve lived has shaped my work in ways I keep discovering. I’ve spent my life in very green places. My two homes have been Louisiana and Kentucky. The old oak trees of New Orleans and the rolling hills here in Lexington – there’s a lushness and rhythm to both landscapes that I think live in my paintings.

Becoming a mother changed me and my art practice so much. Working from home while raising small children meant that (for the most part) when nap time ended, painting time ended. Those constraints forced me to walk away from my work in progress and be freer in my painting. I still remember the first time I heard my son wake up from his nap as a newborn while I was painting. At some point I had applied a lot of pressure on myself and my work and had let painting become a draining mental puzzle. Hearing him wake up and realizing I had permission to step away was actually a big relief.

Tell us what a typical day-in-the-life looks like for you.

Our morning starts around 5:30am – 6:00am, we get my son ready for school and my daughter ready for preschool. The school shuffle is done by 9:30am and I usually treat myself to a coffee right after drop off. When it’s nice out, I’ll garden or run for a bit. Then I head to my home studio and paint or work on whatever tasks need to be done. I’m typically done working by 1:00pm or 2:00pm and will touch back in as needed. The rest of the day mostly belongs to my family — homework, hockey practice for my son, figure skating lessons for my daughter and I, dinner, family walks, bedtime, and whatever lives in between. I love the blend of life and work I have. I feel really, really lucky.

How do you find balance through it all?

My version of balance is pretty chaotic. I always have several projects going on, a perpetually messy car, and a text inbox that’s always full of unread messages. I’ve made peace with that. What grounds me is trying to hold most things lightly. The small stuff is usually small, even when it doesn’t feel that way. I’ve found that’s especially true while raising young kids.

Logistically, I have been building a support team around me. My studio manager Eden helps me with email, website edits, graphic design etc. She’s a great teammate to me. I work with a great shipping team so I never pack a painting myself. And my husband, who’s also an entrepreneur, brings both a business mind and a flexibility for parenting duties that I lean on more than he probably realizes. For a long time it was all me, so I’m very grateful to have help now.

What is the best piece of advice someone has ever given you as an artist? Or, what advice would you share with others as an artist yourself?

My pal Joy Kinna (an artist in Vancouver, Canada) and I had a conversation a few years ago and I left our call feeling really inspired by the way she approaches the scary parts of a creative career — routinely putting yourself out there, figuring out difficult logistics, etc. Her lighthearted attitude towards pursuing and figuring out hard things really stuck with me and I’ve channeled her on days where pushing past my own self doubt is harder! Thanks, Joy :)

My advice to other artists is that if you’re pursuing an artistic career — your journey will be your own. This is not a linear path. Try to figure out what success looks like for you. For me it has meant trying to be ok if my career was a slow build so I could enjoy my kids & build my family at the same time.

What’s next for you? How do you hope to see the impact of your work take form?

Up next, I’m hosting my first solo show! I’ve never done one before and I feel ready. I am able to put my full heart and effort towards an event and I can’t wait.

My family and I are planning to spend a good chunk of time in NYC and a stretch in LA this summer. Travel always greatly inspires my work, so I can’t wait to see how it translates to my work.

More broadly, I’m moving towards more in-person experiences. Most of my work ships far from my home, which means I rarely get to be in the room when someone encounters it for the first time. That’s something I want to change.

Song or album you’ve had on repeat in the studio?

I love music that is lyric driven and pulls on my emotions when painting. I tend to re-listen to songs that make me feel a certain emotion. Gracie Abrams and Taylor Swift are my most commonly played, especially their slower paced songs.

Favorite space in your home?

Other than my studio, my dining room. I’m working on a mural that includes the foliage and flowers found around our home. It feels very personal as my kids have helped and there are little easter eggs within that represent members of our family.

Most influential artist(s) to date?

Out of the classics, Monet is the most obvious to me. I visited his home and garden outside of Paris about 6 years ago and it left quite the mark on me. As a little girl I would fall asleep staring at a Degas print hanging next to my bed. And one of the first pieces I made in grade school that I felt genuinely proud of was a Georgia O’Keefe reference. All three of these artists have a feeling of movement, idealism, and romance that I can see in my own work.

Favorite way to relax and unwind?

I’m a big reader, I love a bath, puzzles, playing with my family, and nights out with friends.