Biography
Born in Boston, raised in New Jersey, Emily’s love of nature was inspired by her summer vacations spent on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Each summer she anticipated spending months at her grandfather’s farm which gave her the special opportunity to ride, sail, swim, fish, and play with many farm animals.
After graduating from Mills College in Oakland, California, Emily and her husband raised their family in the Almaden area of San Jose, where they have lived for the last 50 years.
Emily’s love of nature and it’s beautiful creatures, led her to a career that transferred her love of horses to dogs, which better fit her lifestyle within a suburban setting. Utilizing her ability to communicate with dogs, she has devoted five decades of her life to them, becoming a professional dog trainer, a veterinary technician, and a rescue volunteer for the Shetland Sheepdog Club of Northern California.
Artist's Statement
Emily has always had an affinity for art. She has worked in many mediums including watercolor, oil, acrylic, scratchboard, graphite, and prismacolor pencil. Her latest adventure in the arts is Batik, which utilizes the techniques of watercolor on a cloth surface with wax as a resist. Over the past 30 years she has honed her watercolor skills under the tutelage of some of the Bay Area’s most respected instructors: Jean Tannhauser, Michelle Ruffo, Anita Hammond, Terry Hill, Jean Warren, Floy Zittin, Carolyn Larsen, Linda Seiker, and Karen Frey.
Emily loves detail and bright colors. Her realistic watercolor subjects are often emphasised by an impressionistic background. It is understandable with her professional background working with animals that her most common subject would be domestic pets. Her knowledge of structure and expression are apparent in her appealing animal renderings. Most of her dog and cat portraits are commissions that have been sold both in the Bay area and across the country.
Emily is a member of the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society and the Los Gatos Art Association.