In 2005 I moved from Ventura, California to Kansas City, Missouri. At the time my daughter was a year old and I had no day job. While I was selling large paintings through a couple of different galleries, the income from those sales was too sporadic for comfort. Then I discovered artists who were selling small, trading card-sized paintings and I jumped right into the world of aceo's (artist cards, editions and originals).

I started my shop in 2007, after a few years selling aceo's on eBay. I wanted a way to reach more people and have an actual shop set up, not just to rely on weekly auctions to sell my work. I've met a lot of wonderful folks through Etsy and am so happy that my work can be found in homes all over the world. That is pretty darn cool.

Most of the pieces in my shop are smaller original paintings and drawings, and a whole lot of prints. I try to keep small pieces in stock because they're inexpensive for the buyer and easy to ship.

I have a studio in the basement of my house where I work on my larger oil paintings, but I usually set up my watercolor paints right in the dining room. I can paint at the dining table and still keep an eye on my kids, dinner, etc, etc. My set-up is simple and easy to put away for mealtimes.

I have a regular day job that's pretty interesting: I'm a certified fine art and antiques appraiser, and I work as an auction house manager for a consignment auction house. We deal in antiques, art, glass, pottery, coins, jewelry, etc. Because we sell things on consignment, you just never know what will come into the auction house on any given day. I've seen some amazing pieces and the last 9 years there have been a learning experience on so many levels; not just about antiques, but a lot about human psychology too.

A lot of people ask where I get ideas and inspiration for paintings. The ideas really do come from all over: looking at old photos or costumes or fashion books, conversations (usually overheard--I love eavesdropping. Shameful.), dreams... Sometimes just sitting down and drawing without thinking of anything in particular will produce something cool. Music is definitely something I'm passionate about (I've been collecting records for over twenty years), and it plays an important role in my work as well. And I love looking at stuff! Fashion, architecture, art, design, interiors--there's so much to see and so much to get excited about, just that in itself makes me want to paint.