Artist Statement

"Sailing on the Marsh" 14"x20" Sold


I paint the places and things that I know, places that I love. If home is where the heart is, then each of these paintings is my home. I try to entice the viewer to step into my paintings; to feel the sand between their toes as they walk on my sun-warmed beaches, to dive into my paintings and swim in my oceans, to cruise through my paintings on the decks of my boats.

I paint seascapes and maritime scenes because these are the subjects that are closest to my heart. I've lived all over the US and overseas, and with the exception of a few years in the Black Hills of South Dakota, I have lived my entire life with a view of the water. Even now, as I continue to rebuild after the ravenges of Katrina, I would never consider giving up the water. All of my life I have felt a need to be near the sea, and when I'm away from it for too long I can feel the tides tugging at me, pulling me back to the sandy shores. Water is beautiful. It is ever changing, always moving, and the world is quietly reflected on it's surface.

Although I am a classically trained artist with experience in many mediums, I choose to paint primarily in watercolor. The transparency of the medium allows me to create my paintings using multiple layers of washes and glazes. These layers of color are built up slowly, each one adding depth to the painting. I travel extensively to seek out reference material for my subjects, taking photographs and painting on location to capture the light and mood of the moment. The finished paintings chronical my journeys across the United States, Asia and the Pacific Rim, and the Caribbean.

Each completed painting becomes a visual memory, a history of time and place that I can share with others. I try to take the viewer with me, into my paintings. when you look at my work, I want you to not just see a painting, but to feel the ocean's wind in your hair, taste the salt spray on your lips, and hear the seagulls calling to you.

I have always been an artist; I cannot remember the first time I picked up a brush or created my first work of art. I used to take it for granted, until a harrowing incident led me to change my life and my career. I had been working as a jeweler, until a gang of armed robbers convinced me that it was time for a career change. While I laid bound and gagged with a gun to my head, listening to the gunmen discuss my fate as if my life had no more meaning than a discarded gum wrapper, I had an epiphany; life is too short to waste even a moment on anything that we do not love, anything that does not bring joy and passion into our lives. I have been a full-time professional artist ever since.

I can not imagine a day without painting, and I can not imagine painting anything else.