Hi Jill, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today. 
Hi, and thank you for this wonderful opportunity! Well, let’s see. I’ve been a professional singer/songwriter for most of my adult life. I also recently wrote the libretto to a new opera that received a National Endowment of the Arts grant.

Parallel to my music career, and indeed since I was a child, I have also been an artist. In 2021, I decided to put songwriting to one side for a while and focus all my energy toward painting. This last fall (2023), I had 13 paintings exhibited at 7811 Gallery on Melrose Avenue for two months. During the show, I sold five paintings. So, I guess I’d say that things have been going incredibly well so far!

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My biggest challenge always has been to keep going forward when I didn’t know whether I was good enough at what I was doing. I have stopped myself so many times over the years for reasons of insecurity. My biggest lesson has been that when I have actually allowed myself to proceed, my efforts have eventually borne fruit. I wish I could go back and tell this to my younger self! In other words, I have mostly been the one responsible for how things have gone because of my state of mind.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m seriously passionate about painting and have a rather strong work ethic. I try to paint every day.  I specialize in the abstract, and I like to let my unconscious dictate what the painting is saying as much as possible. At the same time, I am absolutely nuts about color and strive to bring a playful yet emotional element to the work. Joy with an element of heartache. That is the hope. I intend to continue learning until I drop! I suppose what I am most proud of would be that when I let my inner voice come forward, the works resonate with people…and some of those people have now become collectors.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The art industry seems to be quite malleable, and it’s hard to tell where it is going at any one time! For me, I will continue to trust in myself and in the art I am creating and keep moving forward. Ultimately, that is what is most important.

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