BACKGROUND
I have been creating art in one form or another for most of my life. I started carving birds and animals
in wood when I was 11 and have worked in many types of fine art mediums since then. Bird carving
for me was a way to synthesize my interest in painting with sculpture. Duplicating the nuances of
feathers and fur with wood and paint allowed me to perfect my painting skills over many years. After
graduating from college, I started doing art as a full-time vocation by teaching sculpture
and making works for commissions and galleries. That same year, I began to create
bronze sculptures in addition to wood pieces, still with a focus on wildlife and birds. It is
on the strength of my sculptures that I was juried into the
Society of Animal Artists in 1987 and I have shown with them many times over the
years. In 1990, I began creating framed canvasses and large format murals done in acrylics and oils.
I specialize in birds, animals, flowers, and landscapes of North America with a focus on the Western
United States. Soon thereafter, I also started doing faux painting and murals on walls, ceilings, furniture, and fired-tiles for
kitchen backsplashes. Giclées are now available for some of my paintings.
I have had pieces in many shows on a national and international level and have received various awards over the years for both
painting and sculpture. I have done commission work for the Denver Merchandise Mart, Denver Museum of Nature and
Science, the Denver Botanic Gardens, The Denver Zoo, Swedish Medical Center and the Boettcher Foundation in Colorado to
name a few. The majority of work done by me at this time is privately commissioned. I am also available to do faux painting,
other specialty paint finishes, and large format murals in homes and businesses throughout the United States.
ARTIST’S PHILOSOPHY
My painting philosophy is to freeze a moment in time and allow the viewer to see, and more thoroughly appreciate, nature in all
of its forms - be it a flower kissed by the sun, a swan floating across a pond, or a more grand vista. The challenge for me is to
create an emotional connection to the subject where the viewer is transported to whatever place and time I suggest. Nature,
with all of its diversity and beauty, is revealed to us through the various qualities of light and my
paintings express my personal response to light and color and attempts to share that with the
audience.
From 1984 to the present, framed paintings on linen and/or gessoed boards have been added to my
repertoire as well as more large scale murals painted on walls and ceilings. Birds, animals, and florals
are my real passion and they figure prominently in all of my works. Landscapes are also subjects -
especially for large-scale murals. From wood to bronze to pen and inks, oils, and acrylics, I have
been able to match the needs of the subject with the right media in both two and three dimensions.
My love of flowers and the natural world led me to focus more strongly on paintings, where I could
show a broader scene or a miniscule flower with more depth and emotion than I felt I could with
sculpture. I could draw upon light, color and brush techniques to more fully orchestrate the desired
response to my subjects from the viewer which went beyond the more limiting tactile and form
considerations most inherent in sculpture.
As demand for my paintings grew, the time available for sculpture became less and less, and
eventually was eclipsed by the time I needed to paint. Though I still create sculpture, paint is really
my primary medium and I work regularly in both oils and acrylics. Acrylics allow me to work “tightly”
with more detail while with oils I work in a more impressionistic style where texture, color, and only
essential detail help to define the subject while the viewers eye fills in the rest.
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