When Penny was little, she would lay in bed at nap time tracing every object in her room with her eyes. She would draw them in her mind so she would never forget what they were. This drawing without pen or pencil was invaluable to the future artist.

Raising five children makes it challenging to find time to work on her paintings. "It can be a little frustrating, especially when the "artist's" urge to paint kicks in but there are children who need help with homework."

Penny has had no formal art training and the techniques she uses have been learned through trial and error. She is confident she will develop a style of her own. "I have learned from my first experiences with the art market that a photo quality painting is not necessarily what people want to hang on their walls. In my early works I meticulously recorded moments in time, detailing each shadow and texture of an existing scene so that the image would never be forgotten. I would start my paintings in one corner of the paper, and not move until that corner had been perfectly recorded. Very time consuming work. I now find myself experimenting with a more relaxed approach that will be evident in future works."

Penny celebrated her first formal art show, "Giclee Gallery 2000," at the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts, in Jacksonville, Florida. Among the artists featured were Ford Riley, Steve Mills, Tracie Harris, and Victor Kowal. This was by formal invitation only, and given by "The Progressive Group," to profile the benefits of the "Giclee" printing process and of how it compares to an original work.

The Fernandina Shrimp Festival of last spring included a booth with her work. It was Penny's first outdoor show. "I had to learn how to put a tent up and secure my work so no unexpected wind or rain weather could damage it. I heard stories of tents blowing down the street and knocking down everything in their paths."

Penny's last indoor show ran this past October through December. She was one of the featured artists from the area Jacksonville, Florida. The show was sponsored by The Reddi Arts Gallery, located near downtown Jacksonville.

God's creations and images are perfect for our eyes. "I am merely trying to share some of what God has allowed me to see -- and if just one image catches someone's spirit, if only for a moment, then that is a blessing."