I have lived in the Carmel River Watershed, just over the hill from Monterey, since 1965. My passion is to share and educate about the natural world through art...and have been doing so since 1989. In 2005, I focused on creating two small watercolors each week at one location: the Carmel River Lagoon. That then drew me to create plein air oil paintings of the Carmel River and its watershed. In 2012, I published the book Passion for Place: Community Reflections on the Carmel River Watershed. (www.passion4place.net)



I documented, through plein air paintings, the removal of the San Clemente dam and the much smaller "Chinese Dam" . This is the largest dam removal in California's history. It was exciting to be able to be onsite creating the paintings, to listen to the river below the dams, knowing the river would soon be free flowing after ninety-four years of being blocked by the dams at this location.
I collected rebar and white granite rocks from the dams and created the sculpture "Transformation in Restoration" with two metal sculptors Fred Saunders and Richard Schrader. It is now on permanent display at the Palo Corona Regional Park.
I am the chair of the Natural Resources Committee where we organize arts and ecology outings for our Exploring a Sense of Place program.

I am currently creating paintings of the Audubon list of climate threatened and endangered birds of the US, beginning with those that migrate through Monterey County.
I look forward to learning new journaling techniques, meeting fellow naturalists, painters, and all who deeply love the natural world.