I like to create
environments in my paintings that evoke reflection,
expand view and lift viewers from their ordinary expectations.
My favored medium at this time is oil paint ,
which is what you will see used in this work. I also use other
classic techniques, such as the gouache methods used by Indian
miniature painters and Limoges enameling. I depict conventional and unconventional
figures and objects
sourced from different arenas such as: The Monster and Sci-fi movies I used to watch on TV after school, comics and
books I read as a kid (and still do!) Mythology, High gothic,
Surreal , Tibetan and Mexican painters,
travel to exotic places, dreams, meditation and the hallucinations brought on by illness, nightmares and chemical
ingestion, the ragged and beautiful
artifacts seen in
museums. I find scientific studies of the past and present are
loaded with images and ideas. My two years living in India and
asia also add a taste for the
exotic in my choices.
I mix in humor and
beauty with the
horrible and mysterious, because that is my experience
of life.
In 1973 I realized I could
make art as a profession. I had made art for years before
this (as a kid), but didn't understand it could be a "real
job". I studied with several Photo Realist artists
in the 70's, Including
Gary
Pruner and Mel
Ramos . Now making
art IS my real job and I love doing it!
My artwork has shared walls with many interesting artists including Alex Grey , Mark Ryden , Todd Shorr, Robt. Williams, Robert Arneson, Rob & Christian Clayton , Tim Biskup , Isabel Samaras , Rev. Howard Finster , Elisa Terranova , Tara McPherson and many others. My work is included in many collections, including the Crocker Art Museum , where I had a one person show ' Sport of the Mind '.