I started painting in 1998, as a way to create some balance in my life. Being self-employed, without the contact and camaraderie one might experience in a more traditional occupation, I felt that my lifestyle lacked the opportunities for self-expression that were so important to me. Painting was just one such outlet that revealed itself from my love of color and music. Simultaneously, I began to study voice, concentrating my efforts on the music I loved, the sophisticated lyrics of Cole Porter, and the asymmetrical jazz of Antonio Carlos Jobim. I even began to give musical names to my paintings! Indeed, some of my afghans are named after popular songs or classical music.



I was born in Israel of French and Tunisian parents. I have traveled widely, and met my husband in Japan. My outlook and approach to life are inevitably influenced by my international background. As a child in Israel in the early years of its statehood, I remember the unpaved roads and lack of amenities, although I myself did not want for anything. Indeed, my sweetest memories are those of my grandfather's garden, of the effort he would put forth to protect and nurture his peach and plum and guava trees, and the incredible yields of plump fruit produced every year. I remember our trips to the ocean, the cobalt Mediterranean Sea. I remember the soft sunshine that would peak through the clouds after the rains, and I remember the riot of flowers that would blanket the fields in the spring. Those are the colors and sounds and smells I want to capture in my paintings.



I am a restless soul. I am impatient. I gravitate toward bold colors and bold strokes. I rather stay away from the fine detail of descriptive painting, for the more representational. I prefer to paint what I feel, rather than what I see, although the two frequently merge. If I knew how, I would include music in my paintings!



I find that once the creative juices begin to flow, there is no end to the connections I make where I may express myself, from preparing a gourmet meal to home decorating.