Whether working on a painting or a photograph, I strive to capture an image that is aesthetically pleasing, readily accessible to the viewer, and one which challenges the viewer intellectually, emotionally, and sometimes even spiritually. For me, art is not about a jumble of colors scumbled onto a canvas, but a way of communicating while at the same time pleasing the visual sense.

My paintings are mostly done in acrylic paint as I enjoy the fluidity and bright bold colors that can be found. I also enjoy mixing my own colors for my paintings, and the acrylics lend themselves very nicely to blending together to create new hues. Many times I use mathematical computations to mix the colors to create a desired effect.

I enjoy working my paintings basically in two styles: surrealistic and realistic. In both I utilize bold colors, strong shapes and create challenging compositions. I even tried my hand at a cubist style painting that received recognition from an art critic during a juried art showing. Due to my love of mathematics, I have added mathematically-plotted compositions to my repertoire. The placement and sizing of the objects, as well as the colors used are based on mathematical formulas to help me create an ordered calculated composition and picture.

My photography and paintings complement each other. I visualize scenes in my mind as they would look as a painting, and take the pictures accordingly. Then at other times the pictures are an art expression in and of themselves. And sometimes I take many pictures of a scene or object in order to piece together various parts to create a more exciting composition for a painting. I feel that the natural world and the man-made world of cities, vehicles, buildings, etc. provide so much hidden beauty that is often not seen while we hurry along in our busy lives. I like to find these beautiful surprises in our day-to-day world and share them with others.

I work in both color and black and white in my photography. I like the value study that can be seen clearly in a black and white photo. Though I have always worked in film, I have recently branched out and get pleasure from working in digital media.

I have also experimented in soft and hard pastels. They lend themselves wonderfully to en plein aire painting, and setting up compositions. To this point in time, I have only used them in mixed media pictures, but will be pursuing them as the sole medium in future paintings. I enjoy their vibrant colors and their ease of use – though messy at times. Their texture allows for different levels of blending.

Sumi e painting has also been a terrific vehicle for expressing my view of the gentle flowers, insects, and little creatures. The simplistic yet eloquent flowing style is in great contrast to my usual bold and strong painting style. As all people have many sides and many aspects to who and what they are, so do my paintings. My nature is that I need variety and enjoy mixing that up in my artwork.

Recently I have gotten back to the Earth and worked with clay – throwing it and sculpting it. As I work my hands through the rich Earth clay, I feel in touch with all that is around me as well as a bond with the many potters and cultures that have gone before me.

I like to be well-rounded and not become stagnant in my ideas and art. I like trying new things and blending these new materials and ideas into my paintings and artwork. Art has been a large part of my life and always brought me incredible pleasure, and that pleasure is what I wish to share with others through my art.
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