I started coming to the Arnold Arboretum as soon as I moved to Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood of Boston.  Then I started painting at the Arboretum while I was a student at Massachusetts College of Art, the only state-supported art school in the country.  Now I also work at the Arboretum, managing children's education.

I like to say, "I walk here, I work here, I paint here."

About my paintings:

Many years ago I learned that masonite was an inexpensive and portable surface to paint on, and easy to prepare: three coats of shellac, and off you go.  Now masonite panels are an indispensable part of my work.  The shellacked masonite turns to a deep brown surface, and oil paint glides and slithers on this slickness.  I love to watch  the image takes shape as the colors are laid down  thick or thin over the coffee-colored gloss.  There's an inherent drama from the very beginning of the painting.