Debi was born in San Bernardino, California. In elementary school, she fell in love with watercolor, but as life would have it, other things took priority. Marriage, three children, starting and running a business left very little free time to pursue art. Much later in life, Debi took one of her children to an art class where she discovered a passion for watercolor. She devoted the time and energy necessary to hone her skills. Debi completed adult watercolor classes through the community college. Her first watercolor teacher taught her the basics, but Debi wanted more, so she devoted many hours to advancing her skills through classes and workshops by renown watercolorists; Alvero Castagnet, David Taylor, Judy Morris, Eric Widgardt and other fine artists.

Today she continues to hone her skills through workshops, videos and studying watercolor artists she admires. Her ongoing educational efforts coupled with daily painting have helped grow her skills and fall more in love with her medium. Debi prefers to paint “en plein air.” Being outdoors and painting in watercolor with her surroundings is one of her greatest pleasures. Living in southern Oregon has lent to interpreting landscapes, the theme of most of her paintings. The spontaneity of the medium, the quick mixing of the colors and the way they react to one another are intriguing. For Debi, painting from the heart is much more important than being precise. There are painters that paint exactly what they see, but Debi likes to paint what she interprets to get the story across.

“The love of watercolor keeps me painting and the more I paint the better I am able to express what I am interpreting and what story I am trying to tell in my paintings.”