As I go through my days, I often contemplate what life must have been like for those who lived in times past. The reflection is what awakens an artist's creativity; it prompts images and narrative.
My particular passion is 19th Century America.
We all have read of the wagon trains that traversed the Oregon, California and Santa Fe Trails.
We have watched the western movies and TV shows. We know the cowboys wore Stetsons and leather boots, rode horses, and strapped Colt .45's around their middle. They were rough and daring - they captured our hearts.
Whole families of pioneers made their way west over barely visible paths to settle a wild & untamed land. Women & children followed their men.
Native Americans, splendid and enduring, fought for the right to life as their people had always had known it.
But even through all our reading, we cannot possibly comprehend their
fears, their anxieties, their struggles day-to-day just to stay alive.
Like giving birth, how can one truly know the experience unless one has lived it?
Wrangler
or farmer, doctor or dressmaker, those who settled this land were survivors in the fullest sense of the word.
They did what they must to
ensure their family's survival.
They didn't intend to be brave. They just were.
To read a small sampling, check out the Portfolio Page.
I hope you enjoy something there, and I am humbled by your doing so.
As I go through my days, I often contemplate what life must have been like for those who lived in times past. The reflection is what awakens an artist's creativity; it prompts images and narrative. 
