Family Portrait Drawing

My work consists of animal portraits. My focus is on the wildlife of the area in which I live. Given the opportunity to work with wildlife as a volunteer at the Schuylkill Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, I truly get to know these beings. My goal as an artist is to pay homage to each with an image that captures a unique and wonderful personality. I hope I can shed some light on our understanding of the greatness of the local wildlife and create awareness in the general public allowing others to see the animals the way I do. ---------------------------------------------- I have lived around art my whole life. My father was a painter, and my mother who raised me is a sculptor. Both parents taught art in various institutions from college to elementary grades, and my mother was always my art teacher she still is today. I started drawing at a very young age and my family loved and encouraged it. I went on to study art in school. I received a BFA from the University of North Florida where I studied with Louise Freshman Brown. While I went on to earn a BFA I found I had a great interest in the Biological Sciences. By the time I finished my four-year degree I had a large amount of coursework in Biological Science as well as the credits for my BFA. After graduating college I worked as an artist, producing work, showing it regularly and selling it. My college credits in the Biological Sciences and in education allowed me to teach Comprehensive Science while earning my Professional Teaching certificate in Biology grades 6-12. With classroom discipline a problem, I returned to school to finish a Biotech degree that would allow me to work in a Lab. Unable to fit into a corporate setting life led me back to art. This time my heart is truly in it. I find purpose in giving a voice to animals both wild and domestic.