My current work may be described as modern non-representational or non-objective. After years of realistic landscape painting in oils, I decided in the 1980’s to take a workshop to learn the process of creating monotypes (a form of printmaking producing one of a kind painting) at the Cincinnati Art Academy’s Tiger Lily Press studio. I fell in love with this form of art. However, it was challenging to control the image and adjust the pressure of the etching press needed to transfer an image to the paper in the realistic style I had been accustomed to painting landscapes on canvas. I started experimenting and found new freedom. My monotypes became more abstract and geometric. I wasn’t trying to paint a tree, hills, or people, I was just letting my creative juices flow, taking me in a different direction.

My personal artistic endeavors have taken a back seat since opening COOPER GALLERY in 1995. Operating a successful art gallery in a small town has been challenging and takes most of my time. Never enough time to focus on creating my own art. Because of the Covid-19 virus, I temporarily closed the gallery to the public on March 16 and took the opportunity to get into my studio and return to painting. I had a couple of unfinished landscapes which I attempted to finish but I kept seeing the blank canvases stacked around and had to start working on them. I have created a body of work using acrylic paint on canvas utilizing various tools and lively color. I am more comfortable expressing myself painting circles, triangles, and bold lines. Ironically, I also feel more in control and enjoy finding inner balance in this style of work.

I am fortunate to have studied privately with several fine artists, taken classes at the University of Cincinnati and The Cincinnati Art Academy, and visiting many Museums in the US and Europe. My travels have resulted in having a large collection of books on art and artists.

I am a native West Virginian born in Charleston, who, like many natives moved to other states to make a living. John Denver’s ‘Country Roads’ brought me back, to the mountains of Greenbrier County where my pioneering ancestors settled.

Since moving to Lewisburg I have been active in the arts and have taken pride in introducing talented WV artists to collectors all over the US and world. In another life, I was a banker for twenty years. I left my last position as Vice President of the Retail Banking Division of the late Southern Ohio Bank, Cincinnati to pursue my career in the ARTS.