A hiking adventure on Monhegan Island, an artist’s colony off the coast of Maine, led Colette into the world of art. Prior to this 2002 trip, while traveling with her husband Taylor, a collection of work by local artist’s to reflect their travel experiences was begun. While hiking around Monhegan, she was inspired by the many artists who were painting along the coastline to begin her own portfolio reflecting their travels. Each new travel experience creates an ever expanding photo collection and inspires her to continue to create special works of her memories. She captures on canvas the everyday scenes which pass by unnoticed by most in today’s hectic world. Whether painting landscapes, still life, or street scenes, her goal is to let the viewer stop and rest in the beauty of life’s everyday visual experiences.

Colette, a former high school math instructor, lives in Daphne, AL. Her art education began with a drawing class in 2002. Since then, she has studied with several local, regional, national and internationally known artists. In 2004, her first juried show entry won Eastern Shore Art Center’s Best of Show Award. She began painting in exclusively with oil in 2005 and has received several honors for her paintings including an Award of Merit at the 19th Annual Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation Festival of the Arts in Destin, FL in 2014 and a Merit Award at Cathedral Square Gallery’s Colors of the Coast Show in Mobile, AL in 2015.  In 2017, she received one of only two awards presented at the Sarah Carlisle Towery Alabama Art Colony. Her most recent award was the the ESAC Award for Excellence presented by the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Committee in 2022.