BIO

Raised in the high desert and mountains of Northwest Wyoming, I spent summers and winters in Yellowstone and Denali National Parks. In 1992, shortly after moving to Alaska, and encouraged by my new wife and family, I enrolled at the University of Alaska Anchorage to pursue a fine arts degree. The ensuing years were a time of confidence building and problem solving exercises.

In 1997, just before our second child was born, I completed my degree. Having already established her career, my wife remained the breadwinner while I had the privilege of staying home with our children. We purchased an older home which became my creative outlet for several years with the remodeling and landscaping. In the fall of 2006, with most of the house projects finished and the kids in school most of the year, I once again took up a brush.

I am compelled to render my subjects realistically, but have a tendency to brighten colors.  Painting for me is a process beginning with an idea that forms a composition. Composition determines the size and shape of the canvas. I still build and stretch my own canvasses. A simple thing like applying the first layers of gesso affects all the later stages of the painting. Care must be given to amplify or reduce the textures of the initial surface treatment, then the real work begins.