Artist Statement
From a very young age, I have always been mesmerized by visual imagery. I am constantly gobsmacked by the sheer beauty of our world, our people and the things created by human hands. Through my art, I want to capture and create a visual feast that gives voice to my wonder and astonishment, whether it be a panoramic view, a portrait or a small still life.
Biography
I always intended to study fine art and be an artist. Trying to find teachers who knew realism skills in painting and drawing was a continual dead end for me for nearly 15 years. I haunted bookstores, libraries and galleries, trying to fill in my self-taught gaps of knowledge and skills. My experiences at Universities and college art classes were very discouraging. The art world I encountered was buried in conceptual modern art. Traditional art skills were ridiculed and devalued.
The few artists/teachers whom I took classes from were unwilling to share their knowledge. Until the advent of the internet, I couldn’t even find out where my favorite artists lived, much less ask if they were willing to teach! Galleries were very closed-mouthed about sharing their artist’s information. It was a frustrating and very discouraging time for me. I came to the conclusion that realism in our modern time was dead and I had been born in the wrong era.
My father was an aerospace engineer who loved fly fishing and creating hand-carved agate, obsidian and jade chess pieces from his many rock collections. My mother was a writer, poet and artistic inspiration to me. She empowered me to create in dozens of mediums in fine art and artisan crafts. It is no great leap of the imagination to understand that I wanted to study art and science. My fascination with geology began with a thirst for learning about earth processes, rock and crystal formation and how our planet came to arrive at its current state. I got my Bachelor of Arts degree in Geology. Finding a job without further advanced degrees in the field of geology was very difficult.
So, I pivoted. I went to a vocational-technical engineering school and trained in drafting (the old-fashioned work with ink on vellum). I loved learning the skills for architecture and civil engineering drafting. I figured that at least I was creating something while earning a paycheck.
Initially, I worked in architectural home design and civil engineering as a draftsman, then morphed into doing illustrations and art murals for residential and commercial clients while raising my children.
By studying with modern realism masters through workshops, private lessons and masterclasses I finally began to hone my art skills.
I’ve been fortunate to have studied with David Gray, Greg Manchess, Donato Giancola, Marla Baggetta, Carol Marine, Thomas Jefferson Kitts, Dan Dos Santos, Sally Strand, Jen Evenhus, Newman Myrah, Susan Kuznitsky, Bet Borgeson , Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, Carol Nelson, Scott Fisher and Steve Mayo. I also attended the inaugural and second year of The Illustration Masterclass in Amherst Massachusetts where I learned from guest artists James Gurney, Charles Vess, and Michael Whelan, among others.
My current home is in Arizona where I focus on fine art painting in oil, acrylic and pastel while exploring the visual feast of the American Southwest.