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My passion as an artist is the creation of inclusive imagery usually speaking through the image of women, reminding that we are all created equally and beautifully in God’s image. I feel just the attempt to make art is sacred in and of itself regardless of the outcome. My paintings are pared down to the most basic elements and anything extraneous is eliminated. The deepest interest I have is in the spiritual journey and our universal longing for meaning and relevance.

My mother and grandmother were inspirational forces, although I lost them at an early point in my life. Each contributed different influences, although they didn’t live long enough to know that. My mother encouraged determined intellectual expression and my grandmother inspired unstoppable feminine freedom and expression. They were strong women who survived hard lives. It gives me a deep sense of gratitude to believe my work is giving them and other women (as well as myself) a voice to be heard.

At the Millennium my painting, “Jesus of the People”, was selected winner of the National Catholic Reporter’s global competition for a new image of Jesus by judge, Sister Wendy Beckett. This interpretation - dark and modeled by a woman – profoundly infuriated many. My personal journey with this controversial painting altered my life and affirmed my commitment to bringing forward art that includes rather than excludes.

My painting at Wesley Theological Seminary, “Woman Offered #5”, is part of a large series paying homage to women of color, “African American Women Celebrated”, underwritten by longtime collectors.