About Angela

Born 1969. Originally an architectural drafter, now a writer, painter w/4 grown kids, nana w/2 bobtails 2 Manx, and a Cocker Spaniel/Cavalier King Charles mix pup. I took Fine Arts classes in college, then started painting in 1998. I usually use acrylic, but working in pastel as of late for the resounding bold colors and tactile nature. I prefer abstract work, but it’s more difficult than it looks, so my focus is on landscapes. In my spare time, I enjoy yoga & spirituality classes. We reside in suburban Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA, near our four grown kids, their spouses, and two grandsons whom we enjoy babysitting.

My art business stands for beauty, memory, resilience, and the quiet power of personal story. Through my paintings, I try to create pieces that feel both grounding and emotional—art that invites people to pause, reflect, and reconnect with something deeper inside themselves. I believe artwork should do more than decorate a room; it should hold feeling, history, atmosphere, and meaning. Each piece I create is rooted in the belief that beauty can come from survival, that softness can hold strength, and that every home deserves art that feels personal and alive.

The inspiration for my work comes from my Native American heritage, my family history, and the artists, makers, and storytellers who came before me. Creativity has always felt like something inherited—a thread passed down through generations through color, craft, memory, and spirit. My Dakota Sioux heritage influences the way I see the natural world, the importance of place, and the emotional connection between land, family, and identity. I am drawn to artwork that feels connected to ancestry, healing, and remembrance, while still allowing room for modern expression and personal interpretation.

I create acrylic and watercolor paintings that often reflect nature, emotion, movement, and quiet moments of beauty. My acrylic work allows me to build depth, texture, and bold feeling, while watercolor gives me space for softness, flow, and light. Whether I am painting landscapes, florals, abstract pieces, or emotionally inspired compositions, I want people to feel a sense of peace, connection, and recognition when they see my artwork. My hope is that each painting feels like an invitation—to remember where we come from, to honor what we have lived through, and to find beauty in the places where spirit and story meet.

When others look at my work, I hope they sense not just beauty, but a kind of resonance—a dance of emotion and color that reminds them that this world, in all its layered complexity, is still full of magic.

I find kinship with the bold explorations of Arshile Gorky and Albert Gleizes, the rhythmic futurism of Gino Severini and Umberto Boccioni, and the luminous energy of Hans Hofmann and Johannes Itten. The expressive pulse of Kandinsky, John Marin, and Willem de Kooning echoes in my own search for harmony between chaos and form.

I’m passionate about palette knife painting and impasto, using organic strokes, textures, and lively, sometimes quirky, details to create vibrant designs, all done in time to classic rock or 80’s music. Predominantly, I use acrylic or gouache to paint metaphorical pieces that attempt to touch the soul and convey a particular mood or atmosphere. I paint with spontaneous, loose, expressive brush strokes, in addition to the palette knife, using daring, vivid colors. I’ve used pastel in landscapes for the tactile quality it offers. I enjoy budget travel, which inspires me to create abstract sunsets for an overall mood of serene reverie.

Influences: Arshille Gorky, Albert Gleizes, Gino Severini, Hans Hoffman, Johannes Itten, Kandinsky, John Marin, Umberto Boccioni, Willen de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Rothko, Cezanne, and Matisse

Education
Normandale Community College, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

I’m a novelist, poet, and painter who enjoys yoga and spirituality classes. Although I’m a South Dakota native and an enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, I’ve lived in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, on and off throughout my childhood. Currently, I reside in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with my family. Other hobbies include Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), camping, and budget travel, particularly to Maine, Oregon, and the coastal Carolinas.

Formally, I studied Fine Art at Normandale Community College, the University of Minnesota, and a lifetime of workshops with amazing teachers that continue to the present.

“Art is neither a profession nor a hobby. Art is a way of being.”

—Frederick Franck