MY HUMBLE BACKGROUND

I became an artist at age 5. The local mall in St. Louis held a coloring contest, and when I showed up to claim my giant bunny, the lady at the store said, “Are you SURE you colored this yourself?” A typically shy child, I took a deep breath and replied, “I can do another if you'd like.” I can still feel the spotlight of JCPenney customers and their delighted faces watching a tiny girl carry out a bunny that was twice her size.

Shortly thereafter began my obsession with drawing Snoopy and the Peanuts characters. I was that kid who could draw Snoopy perfectly and even began posing him doing things I loved to do!

When I was in middle school my dad let me paint animal characters I invented on the walls of our apartment. I learned two lessons: that my father supported my artistic endeavors and that automotive paint is impossible for your landlord to paint over.

By highschool my talents began to be exploited by teachers who leaned on me to draw flyers to announce school dances, sporting events and socials. A fun touch I added were little caricatures of my favorite teachers in the corner with a quote. I also painted backdrops to welcome celebrities to our school such as Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger), David Copperfield, and Ozzie Smith.

My official first job as an artist was painting sets and props for Disney in 1989. This experience helped me land my first design job (before computers!) for a large electrical sign company where I rendered what sign programs would look like on buildings and made full-sized manufacturing patterns. I still dabbled in set and prop design in the Bay Area while I launched my own design business in 1995.

While I love my computers as tools, real design is in the mind's eye. I joke with clients that they get lots of free design time when I hear about a project far ahead of its due date, because so much of working out design is intuitive and comes from some sub-conscious place. I feel fortunate to hold the key to that place. One thing I discovered about creativity on my own, is that you cannot always wait for inspiration. Just putting pencil to paper or pixels to screen, starts the process. Also, another cup of earl grey tea does the trick.

1971

Me presenting Ozzie Smith with our “Man of the Year Award.” Women were not allowed this honor in 1984. I painted the backdrop for the event and saved it for many years!

As an only child, I adored my cousins. Although that one Easter, when Ann, Cindy and Christy got matching yellow bunnies and then had to pose with my giant bunny, I was not their favorite. Hehe.

I painted seasonal sets and props for 125 Disney Stores nationwide, and occasionally some animated components for the theme parks.

My original Snoopy lunchbox holds cancelled checks from clients and always has a presence in my office.