In the nearly 30 years that I have been studying and creating art, I have experimented with a variety of artistic media – and have liked all of them – but find painting the most rewarding. In particular, I enjoy using traditional painting techniques to create dynamic, contemporary realist images.
As my skills and confidence have grown, I find myself drawn to more complex and challenging images that prompt me to explore, understand, and connect with the world. I look for a subject with which I feel an immediate, visceral connection: it may be a play of light through the trees, a facial expression or gesture, an abandoned house that’s seen better days, the color of the light late in the day – or something I can’t even articulate. Whatever the subject matter, my best paintings are those that result from my seeing something that makes me think “I have to paint that!” Thus, my objective is not to be a “landscape” or “figure” or “still life” painter -- the different subjects with which I connect are not limited to a single genre, and many combine elements of different genres. My goal, instead, is to create artwork, regardless of subject matter, that shares the feeling of connection that prompts me to paint.
Like many painters, I have been taught, influenced, and inspired by others. Yet the infinite combinations of light, colors, and shapes provide the opportunity to create images that are uniquely mine -- but that are also potential openings to sharing and connecting with others.