Stuffed

oil on panel, 16x20, 2025

I spotted this jar of chili stuffed olives at the grocery store and couldn't walk past it. The red lid, shapes distorted through glass, the briny promise inside. I brought it home and posed it in the July sun. Olives are a childhood memory I still return to often.

I am a Seattle-based oil painter specializing in still life realism. My recent work centers on found glass objects sourced from thrift stores and local markets throughout Washington State. I paint these humble objects as colorful large-scale portraits, traces of everyday life shaped by use and light. My paintings reflect values I hold deeply: attentiveness, reuse, and reverence for what already exists. Colorful refractions, light in shadows, and distorted reflections inspire me every day. I love how glass is fragile yet enduring.

With over 20 years as a fashion and technical apparel designer, I trained my eye on detail, from the twist of a thread to the way fabric drapes on a body. That meticulous attention to form and texture now carries into my oil paintings, a practice I returned to more fully in 2020. I'm fascinated by how subtle shifts in light and color can make a flat surface feel three-dimensional and alive. My work has been exhibited and sold in group shows across Washington, Oregon, and California, and King County recently acquired a painting for its public archives.