Twenty-seven years of creative energy in the classroom needed some place to go after retirement.

My first painting class was with Alice Power at the Carver Center in Loudoun County, VA.  Alice is a true light in this world.  She introduced me to watercolor, nurtured my inner artist and modeled many techniques.  Alice also instilled the importance of quality paper, paint and brushes.

During Covid, I continued my education online with @pamelaharnoisart. Pamela’s art is gorgeous.  She works with copious amounts of water in a semi-abstract style.  Through her, I fell in love with flow- the flow of water and paint on paper, the flow of marks and brushstrokes and the flow of the viewer’s eye through the art.

In October 2022, my husband encouraged me to create my first social media account in order to document my watercolor journey.  My Instragram community now has over 1,100 fellow artists from all over the world.

It was @louisefletcher_art ‘s course Find Your Joy that truly made me feel like an artist.  Louise encouraged an attitude of play, exploration and risk-taking.  Through this course I developed a “What if..? attitude of experimentation and truly found joy in creating art.

In December 2023, I was invited to show my art at Twigs- a beautiful shop in Purcellville, VA.  It was the first time showing my work to the public.  I was touched by the positive response- so much appreciation and encouragement- and I sold 14 pieces! I went back to Twigs the following weekend and 16 additional pieces found homes. I will be forever grateful to Amy Turner for appreciating my art and welcoming me into her shop.