Showcase & Discover Creative Work

I have my own working studio/gallery/shop space in Winston-Salem's Downtown Arts District. Currently specialize in hand painted clothing: I work free-hand, without patterns or stencils, by painting with acrylics directly on the garment. Got my start in this medium in 1989, when I moved to St.John, USVI. Owned/operated studio/shop there from 1996-2004. Have been working in other media since returning to Winston-Salem: graphic design, especially anything involving hand lettered elements; designs for screen printed T-shirts; works on paper in pencil, pastel, ink, especially pet portraits. Currently adapting many of my old sketches and painted designs on clothing into characters and graphics suitable for licensing, children's book illustration or reproduction on other substrates. Read Less

I have been drawing pictures ever since I could hold a crayon. During my college years in the 1970's, pen and ink seemed to be my natural medium. My love of foreign languages took me to Europe a few times, and I enjoying rendering favorite sites in pen and ink. Back in the U.S. I produced some "house portraits" for my mother to give to her real-estate clients as thank-you gifts.
Having always loved letters and handwriting and hand lettering, in the late 70's/early 80's, I began attending calligraphy workshops, studying under such world-renowned callligraphers as Peter Thornton and Thomas Ingmire. In between stints as a travel consultant, I did a little free-lance graphic design and sign painting work. I discovered the art of hand painted clothing in 1989, when I moved to St.John , USVI, and immediately got a job as a contract artist for a boutique specializing in hand painted clothing. Something about painting it and wearing it appealed to me, and I've been painting clothing ever since. I established a studio/shop of my own in St.John in 1996, which I kept for 8 years. After returning to my native Winston-Salem NC in late 2004, I shared studio space at Atelier Studios (now Woodland Moth) in the Downtown Arts District of Winston-Salem, from 2004-2009. In 2010 I moved into my own, much larger, studio and shop. I have been able to expand production since moving into larger quarters. I have room for work space as well as retail/display space. I also have room for occasional drawing, illustration and design projects. I still prefer to work by hand in much of my two-dimensional projects, using the computer as a tool for refining and improving what I began with a pencil or paintbrush. Read Less

I individually hand paint each garment or accessory item free-hand, without patterns or stencils which have a tendency to stifle my creativity. I love the spontaneity of working free-hand, happy accidents and all, often making up designs as I go. Design motifs seem to acquire a life of their own as I paint. I begin many of my designs by drawing with a tube of acrylic paint with a plastic tip screwed on instead of its regular cap. After the lines are dry, I use flat-edge brushes to apply acrylic colors, blending color directly on the garment surface. This means working fairly quickly, before the paint colors have dried. I thin the acrylic paints with a combination of water and medium, which helps the paint work into the fabric and control bleeding while maintaining color brilliance. The mixture of paint and medium varies according to the type of fabric I'm working on and according to the desired effect.
When creating a design on a piece of clothing, I tend to use the entire garment as a canvas, keeping in mind that the item will not be hanging on a flat wall but will be worn by a person. Design elements need to be placed so as to flatter the wearer. I try to blend colors in such a way that the garment may coordinate with other items in a person's wardrobe.
My finished items are all washable according to the garment manufacturer's instructions. Most of the things I paint are machine washable and machine dryable. The paints I use do not require heat setting, and they will not run or fade onto other items in the wash. Anything that I paint on white may be bleached as well, without affecting the painted design.
Buying a unique, one-of-a-kind wearable item is an investment for some, and I want people to enjoy wearing my designs for years and years. I have been painting wearables for 20 years, and I have items whose paintings have held up for 20 years, through repeated wearing, washing, drying, and wearing again. And again. Lather, rinse, repeat....Wear, turn heads, and have fun. Read Less