I have been drawing for as long as I can remember.  I grew up in Florida in the small country town of Oviedo.  That means I am some kind of a Southernah,  there everyone calls me, “Penny.”

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As a child, I remember my Mom hanging paintings of flowers on the walls, just flowers because it was hard to find paintings of Black people in the 60s.  One day, Mom brought home a Southern Living magazine, which featured an article called "Jericho.”  Jericho was a display of incredible renaissance paintings of Black people like I know Black people.  I was inspired by that article.  So, I started drawing pencil images of all kinds of people; I asked God to help me draw exact likenesses, He did just that!  Later, I discovered charcoal, which is an artistic adventure.  I enjoy the enthusiasm in paintings, but I love the intensity of charcoal. 

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I like creating images of people; people are fascinating in the way they look, smile, move, and you can easily see life in their faces.  Art inspires me to see beauty in everything: flowers, trees, dogs, pies, smiles, and especially people.  Just like Barbara Streisand sings... “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”  As a Christian, I don't believe in luck; I believe in blessings.  So, I'm a blessed Penny!