I had a fairly unique childhood, growing up with a father in the theme park business and a mother who loves sewing and other crafts. I was exposed to a lot of fun, beautiful, happy events, hand in hand with nature including conservation, education, and appreciation. Because of that I find my framing, vision, and inspiration influenced by the wonder I experienced at such an impressionable age.

I am passionate about making the world better, healthier, and more aesthetically pleasing than before. When not painting you can find me wrestling my boys, in my garden, rearranging the furniture (yes, again), or working on my many projects, currently tiling my kitchen backsplash and writing.

I came to Nashville in 2004 to attend Lipscomb University and graduated in December 2007 with a communication degree. I married my sweet husband, Stephen, in 2009 then decided to pursue one of my childhood dreams of becoming a massage therapist. Shortly after earning my license I discovered I was pregnant with our first #adorrisable son who was born in 2011. I retired my license and chose to stay home. Then we added two more boys, one in 2013, then in 2015.

I started painting in December 2016 as a way to deal with the stress of the previous couple of years. We had moved twice, two of our sons were diagnosed with autism, and when our youngest son was about four months old, I was diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases of my liver (primary biliary cholangitis and autoimmune hepatitis). I felt like I was being given a life sentence, that I couldn't be the mom my boys needed or the person I was supposed to be. It was frustrating, terrifying and just plain draining. I needed an outlet. Thankfully I had some old supplies from when I dabbled in younger years and started painting what I saw in my head. Close friends and family encouraged me to share my work and when I did, people started buying my work. My work that I had done for me and helped me through so much was giving other people joy which makes everything worth it.

Now, my children are probably my greatest inspiration, and harshest critics. My oldest has a great eye and will tell me something good about my painting, then how to make it even better. He's a realist and questions why I sometimes paint animals in different colors. I have to have a good explanation for him about why I chose that color which helps me think about the message I want to convey and gives even more meaning to the piece. My middle son likes to tell me what to paint, where, when, and how fast. I have a torrential amount of terrible paintings done for him that he loves. My youngest mostly just wants to be held or to "help".