Art chased me - until I caught it.

I was never very serious about art.  I drew pictures and made paper dolls when growing up.  Hiding out under the dining room table with my paper and pencils was like finding an oasis of peace in a busy household.   I told my parents I wanted to major in art in college until they told me I’d starve.  So I took the traditional route of working in a left-brain world of banking and finance to support myself and my daughter.

However, the Art Muse was not going to remain silenced much longer and tapped me on the shoulder when I made the decision to return to college as an adult.  A pastel portrait I had painted in the 7th grade had been kept by my teacher until 17 years later when my youngest brother became a student in his class.  Yes, 17 years!  The teacher said, “You must be Vicki’s brother.  She might like to have this.”  The portrait came back into my life at Christmas that year when I was 30 years old.

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No, I didn’t choose an art major then either.   I still believed my parents’ comment that I would starve as an artist.  What I learned was that my left-brain career in banking and finance required me to find balance and harmony in the right-brain world.  Art was the answer and the gift.  So I discovered numerous art classes, art hikes in California's Sunol Regional Wilderness, plein air workshops, and even virtual classes today.  A feast of balance, harmony, and joy no matter what the outer circumstances might be.​​​​​​​

Now with the luxury of time to create, I realize that Art has been an anchor supporting me through life’s ups and downs, weaving itself in and out of my growth, and transforming me into who I am today.  It was always there.  I had to grow up and wake up to see it.

This is why I paint – to experience the Artistic Alchemy of transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary – just like me.