Artist Statement
I was born in Oakland, California and raised in the San Francisco – East Bay foothills area. I spent my youth outdoors playing sports and hiking and exploring in the east bay and the Mt. Diablo state park. When indoors, I enjoyed drawing and creating things with my hands.
After graduating from high school in Castro Valley, California, I attended Chabot College in Hayward. I studied Art History and general education courses. After that I attended a technical school and was certified in digital electrical engineering, I was fortunate enough to make a living working as a software engineer for several well-known technology companies. This allowed me to travel to Europe and the U.K. and visit the museums and see the great master’s paintings. My two great passions have always been Impressionistic paintings and being outdoors.
About 5 years ago, after being a representational artist for many years, I became seriously interested in Plein Air painting and started painting in my home state of New Mexico and also in the Southwest. I am really interested in the immediacy and the spontaneity of the Plein Air approach. This style of painting requires a fresh and painterly technique that I strive to achieve. I really enjoy Plein Air painting in New Mexico that captures a moment in time in a painting.
My approach to painting is to utilize all my skills to capture a landscape that has a strong composition, and has interesting graphic shapes, and then put my vision of color and light into the painting. I have been in several shows with the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico.
My wife Bev is usually the first person that critiques my works as I complete them, and I value her feedback and suggestions for my art.
I belong to the following associations:
- Plein Air Painters of New Mexico – associate member
- Oil Painters of America – associate member
- Outdoor Painter Society – associate member
- Rio Grande Art Association - member
