I’m an oil painter originally from the Northeast, now based in Florida after relocating with my husband due to military life. Creativity has always been a constant in my life—I was drawn to art from childhood, carried it through high school, and eventually studied painting in college. For a long time, art felt like the most natural language I had.

After leaving school, however, I struggled to believe that a creative life could truly support a family. Like many artists, I stepped away from my practice and moved into more conventional work, trying to fit my life into structures that felt stable, responsible, and practical—but not aligned.

Recently, I was presented with an opportunity in a startup franchise that, on paper, felt like a promising future. Yet when I tried to imagine myself inside that corporate framework, something in me quietly revolted. I returned to painting during that time, and through the work, I began to understand why the idea felt so deeply unsettling. Creating again reopened parts of myself I had silenced—my intuition, my vulnerability, my inner voice—and made it clear that I could no longer ignore them.

Now, I’m fully recommitting to my art practice and stepping back into my creative life with intention and honesty. My work is part of a larger process of healing my creative self—exploring inner depth, shadow work, and emotional vulnerability, and making space for the quieter, more complex parts of being human. I create especially for those who live inside their minds, who carry layered inner worlds, and who may struggle to bring those private spaces into the light.

Through my work, I hope to offer connection, recognition, and belonging—a reminder that it’s okay to explore the deeper, more difficult places within ourselves, and that there is beauty, meaning, and shared humanity in doing so.