My artwork turns blank panels into treasures that express my unique personality: a little crazy, a lot of fun, mostly bright and happy. 

I get quiet with paint and brushes and listen for that small inner voice--sometimes no more than a gentle nudge, sometimes loud and forceful. I do whatever it says, my mind observing rather than directing. I paint until I the voice shouts, “Stop!” 

Some paintings happen all at once; others take years of tinkering. It makes no difference; I love them all in the end.  

I offer my paintings as the most valuable thing I have to offer: a genuine expression of the unique person I was created to be.

I offer the stories that accompany each painting as one example of the emotions and experiences that come to mind as I sit with the paintings. You may connect with them in a totally different way, and I may, too, on a different day.

I hope being vulnerable through my art will help you embrace your unique identity as a treasure beyond price.  

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A little bit about me

I’m a woman, a wife, a mother of 3, a grandmother of 6, a friend of many. I count on God’s great love for my life, my family, and our world. 

My life has benefitted from some unique experiences:

 ·      European-ness is in me.  

I was born the youngest of nine in a Dutch immigrant family, growing up on a sprawling dairy farm in Los Angeles, with pastures as far as the eye could see, surrounded with all things Dutch.  

·      The bold colors and rhythms, the earthiness and laughter of Africa are in me. 

My husband and I worked lived in villages in West Africa for 18 years. We developed friendships with the ‘other’, learned the local language and culture, did linguistic analysis, and trained native speakers in translation and literacy.  

·      Stories of atrocious suffering and incredible healing are in me: I’m an eyewitness. 

Surrounded with people suffering the trauma of war in Africa, I helped church leaders heal from their own wounds and help their people to heal. And the program spread to meet the needs of traumatized people globally.