I was eighteen before I learned to color outside the lines. Before that I had
attended small schools with little support for art education. I was therefore
quite intimidated my freshman year at Pratt Institute when I learned that
not only were my student-peers immensely talented but that most of them
were very adept at painting outside the lines. My abilities and artistic passion grew tremendously. Unfortunately practicality won out and I changed direction to pursue a career in advertising. I always knew, however that I would return to my art some day.
Painting and drawing were put aside for almost twenty years while I tried to strike a balance between a marketing career and family. When I returned to painting, it was very much a part-time venture, though the passion was full time. I started with weekend classes at the Carnegie Museum of Art and at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and eventually painted a few days a week without instruction. In recent years I have been able to paint full time from my home studios in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Mendocino California.
Like many artists, I am instinctively drawn to light and the wide variety of color and atmosphere that different light patterns evoke. Though my paintings in oil or soft pastel are largely representational, my concern is now not so much with realistic renderings, but rather with depicting the way a scene or subject strikes me at a particular moment. Although I often paint from my photographs in my studio, my favorite method is to work 'en plein air'. In this way I can best evaluate and interpret the effect of color, light, shadow and temperature on the scene. The exploration of color relationships and form is the key, and the resulting works represent my emotional response to that particular place and time. My journey has shown me that painting 'outside the lines' has freed my spirit to paint inside the mood.
attended small schools with little support for art education. I was therefore
quite intimidated my freshman year at Pratt Institute when I learned that
not only were my student-peers immensely talented but that most of them
were very adept at painting outside the lines. My abilities and artistic passion grew tremendously. Unfortunately practicality won out and I changed direction to pursue a career in advertising. I always knew, however that I would return to my art some day.
Painting and drawing were put aside for almost twenty years while I tried to strike a balance between a marketing career and family. When I returned to painting, it was very much a part-time venture, though the passion was full time. I started with weekend classes at the Carnegie Museum of Art and at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and eventually painted a few days a week without instruction. In recent years I have been able to paint full time from my home studios in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Mendocino California.
Like many artists, I am instinctively drawn to light and the wide variety of color and atmosphere that different light patterns evoke. Though my paintings in oil or soft pastel are largely representational, my concern is now not so much with realistic renderings, but rather with depicting the way a scene or subject strikes me at a particular moment. Although I often paint from my photographs in my studio, my favorite method is to work 'en plein air'. In this way I can best evaluate and interpret the effect of color, light, shadow and temperature on the scene. The exploration of color relationships and form is the key, and the resulting works represent my emotional response to that particular place and time. My journey has shown me that painting 'outside the lines' has freed my spirit to paint inside the mood.