Artist Statement

After finishing university, I had a desire to go to Sweden. An opportunity arose to work with Young Life, a Christian organization that helps teenagers. I started with a 3-month trip. During that time, I met many sweet friends, but also had some time to myself. I started painting watercolors.

During school, I focused on acrylics and drawing, but when I moved to Sweden, I discovered watercolors are so portable! The frustration can be that they blend in together creating a big mess, so I started with drawing the scene first with a black pen, then filling in my design with paints. It’s like making my own coloring book! By drawing with a pen, I can get the detail I want, and by using paints, I give it life with color.

I had gotten to know Jonas through my trips to Sweden. We fell in love and were married in the summer of 2002 at my parents’ home in Oregon. We lived just north of Stockholm until June 2009, when we moved to Oregon to try it out!

It’s an interesting time of transition for us as a family. I am going to keep painting Scandinavian themes, but maybe have the beautiful Oregon coast or my new backyard show up in my paintings once in a while!