About me
My background
I grew up in Montana, and I have lived in the west most of my life—Montana, California, Colorado and New Mexico. In Montana, I learned to love the outdoors and nature while camping, fishing, and hiking with my family. I started painting in high school and had an engaged art teacher, Leo Olson, who encouraged me to pursue art in college. Because of Mr. Olson, I applied to and was accepted to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. After two years, I transferred to the San Francisco Art Institute, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
After living in San Francisco for nearly a decade, I moved back to Montana. I lived there for four years and then moved to Colorado. My job took me to Washington, D.C. for seven years where I enjoyed living on the East Coast and frequent visits to every art museum in D.C. and New York. I have traveled quite a bit all over the United States and internationally—Mexico, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Italy and the Middle Eastern countries of Qatar and Jordan. In 2014, my husband and I left the Denver area and moved to the Sangre de Cristo mountains into a house we built, at 9500 feet elevation, fondly known as “Fort Kimber.” There, after a long career in the legal industry, I picked up the paintbrush again and haven’t stopped!
In 2022, we moved to the fabled old town of Taos, New Mexico, and made it our home. I joined the Taos Watercolor Society right away and am grateful to have met so many other artists and creatives in this wonderful art-focused community.
My experience
While attending MCAD, where I studied painting and “intermedia” for two years, I became interested in film and made a few Super8 millimeter movies, even though there was no film department. I had a terrific teacher and mentor, Siah Armajani, a well-known sculptor, painter, architect, and conceptual artist, who encouraged me to pursue film. After two years, I was given the opportunity to transfer to a sister college of art, SFAI where I studied film, photography, and painting. In 1976, I traveled to Florence, Italy, intending to study Art History. Alas, the University went on strike and I was unable to afford to stay.
After graduation, I made my Magnum Opus, a 16 mm color, sync-sound film, entitled “Miles of Time,” with the soundtrack by the Jim Lowe Trio, who had just cut an album of the same name. To support myself, I took a job with a law firm, and I ended up working for lawyers for the next nearly 40 years, including as a Chief Marketing Officer, and later, starting my own consulting firm, Fort Kimber Partners.
Finally, all of the creative endeavors in legal marketing spurred me to return to my true love—ART. I retired completely from the legal industry in 2020 and began painting in earnest!
My vision
I love color and I love to paint. I have always been impressed by the Renaissance painters, especially Leonardo da Vinci. I wanted to be an art historian, but found my true calling in painting. I love the early Western painters, and revere George Catlin and his amazing paintings of Native Americans — all with such a limited palette and in an extremely harsh environment! I am especially moved by the 19th Century Impressionists, Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, Camille Pissaro and others and I love the Surrealists, such as Salvadori Dali but especially Giorgio de Chirico, whom I met in Rome in the early 1970s, My fondness for favorite artists extends to the Abstract Expressionists, most especially Jasper Johns, Elaine de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler and Robert Rauschenberg. Contemporary artists I admire are Andrew Wyeth, and Georgia O’Keeffe. Finally, my favorite Southwest artists are Randy Pijoan and Tony Ortega, both of whom became friends.
My work leans toward contemporary but also impressionism and abstract. I love the contrast between the natural world and the urban environment. I am an empath, so I am naturally attracted to animals and birds, but also feelings and I try to impart a mystical quality to some of my paintings. I am immersed in watercolors, but also enjoy pastels and collage. My recent endeavors include many en plein air outings, workshops and studio work. Most especially, I appreciate the many family and friends who have purchased my work and I continue to feel blessed to be recognized by some of my peers in the local Taos art scene.
I hope you enjoy my site!
Contact me
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