Statement, Bio, and CV
Statement about my work
I call it Contemporary conceptual. Early life experiences with people, places, and a few wild animals taught me to see things differently, to embrace doubt and uncertainty because nothing is as it seems. I Learned to resist prevailing standards, attitudes, practices and conventional wisdom. They never led me anywhere interesting. So, I paint things from an unconventional point of view. They blend psychology, allegory, metaphor, and symbol into alternative realities. I do not paint by formula. I have an idea, apply some paint to the canvas, and the paint leads me from there.
Regarding materials, I paint with oil. I rarely use any mediums other than Gamsol solvent. When I travel, I like to sketch my surroundings in watercolor or on my iPad. When the mood strikes, I also create assemblage sculptures.
Brief Bio and Formative Lessons
I was born in Wisconsin, spent my formative years in Tucson, Arizona, traveled and lived abroad for 14 years, and currently live in Colorado. Along with a lifetime of painting, I studied small mammals in the southwestern US and Mexico, wrote AI software, worked on cruise ships, and was a psychology professor. I have exhibited paintings and sculptures in Colorado, New York, California, Oregon, and in Germany.
Formative Years: My early life experiences in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona influenced my outlook on life and art. They taught me to see the world differently: When I was 8 years old, I walked into the Arizona Desert, alone. My journey spanned several years and countless miles of brush, cacti, and rock. I hiked to the tops of hills and crawled down into abandoned mines. Was surrounded by coyotes, javelina, and hundreds of bats. Ate cactus and agave fruits and talked with plants and animals. These experiences made me sensitive to the energy of living things.
In front of Moulin Galette, Montmarte, Paris