about me

Born in San Francisco, I grew up in a house filled with paintings and sculpture, and art was a frequent topic of conversation. I was inspired by my artist parents Mireille and Phil Wood, my grandfather Gottardo Piazzoni, cousin Russ Chatham and great-uncle Maurice del Mué. All painted the landscape on location.

I began painting in oils around age eight at the family's ranch in Carmel Valley, when my parents provided me with easel, sketch box, brushes and tubes of paint. 

As teenagers, during summers, my cousin Russ and I would paint the landscape around us: oaks and hills, brushy canyons, barns and fences – and tack our paintings up on the wall of the ranch house porch, an impromptu rural art gallery. 

Earning a B.A. (University of California Berkeley) and an M.A. (San Francisco State University) in English, I taught college composition and literature for several years in New York and California. I also worked in educational media and photography, and was active in theater and music. 

In the 1980s I wanted to devote more time to art, and I've since exhibited

professionally in numerous one-man and group shows. My paintings hang in many private collections.

I live in Marin County, California.

I complete smaller paintings directly from nature, and use outdoor work as a basis for larger studio canvases. 

I try to convey an honest interpretation and feeling by closely observing light and shadow, the variations in color, the sense of space.

The landscape is suggestive of past and future, evoking memory and time, history and dreams. The landscape can be quiet, dramatic, awe-inspiring, beautiful. Through painting, I hope to capture some of these qualities.