All my life, I wanted to be an artist. It started in the 4th grade and I eventually graduated from Ringling School of Art in 1977. That is where I really established my desire to paint as an impressionist. I met my wife there as well so Ringling was critical to my development and style. However, I had to put the fine arts away in the early 1980’s to make a living and support my family. My creative abilities were utilized in graphic arts, photography, trade show design and videography.
In April of 2018, I started painting again. To my surprise, my skill set for working with acrylics had improved greatly over my paintings from 40 years before. It was like I had never stopped. Watching my wife and son, draw and paint kept me in tune with the fine arts instead of just commercial. Both are award winning artist and my wife has many instructional art books through Walter Foster Publishing.
My paintings now have more meaning as they come from my experiences and each and every one means something to me. They are places we vacationed, places around our homestead, time spent with loved ones and memories of places I may never get an opportunity to see again.
On many of my paintings, you will see the use of glazes, washes, transparent, translucent and opaque paint. Layers are sometimes as many as 10 to 20. This can create a sense of depth that looks beyond the 2D art. I like to leave evidence of pencil layouts and toned backgrounds. There is detail to most of my work that needs to be studied up close and there is no better compliment to my work than seeing someone with their nose 10” from my canvas.