Maureen also spent two summers (2001-2002) working under Rudolph H. Dornemann of ASOR in the Orontes River Valley in northern Syria as a Square Supervisor on the archaeological dig at Tel Qarqur.

"During my time at Tel Qarqur, I gathered so many images that I have yet to bring to life in my paintings.  We were digging at the Early Bronze Age level and the experience of being out there simply cannot be duplicated by anything in daily life.   My passion for archaeology is second only to my passion for art, and while I must be content these days as an 'armchair archaeologist' only, I miss it too much not to hope to return to fieldwork someday." 

Maureen was born in the Pacific Northwest, and has lived on both the East and West coasts, as well as in the Southern United States and the Hawaiian islands.  

Maureen is self-taught, learning and taking inspiration from books by Zoltan Szabo, Jan Kunz, and Stephen Quiller.  A widowed mother of five children, she began painting in 1994 (Shadow of His Wings) and painted briefly until 1997, when she put down her brushes in order to take a full-time job to support her family.  She returned to school, earning a BA in French and Classics from Willamette University at the age of 49, and has worked as a legal assistant for a number of years. Upon her return from Balboa Naval Hospital in June 2004, where her 19-year-old son, a U.S. Marine, was recovering from serious wounds caused by an I.E.D. in Iraq, Maureen recommenced painting again to work on a collection of paintings as tribute to the men and women of the U.S. armed forces who have served and continue to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.