Although
I'll paint any subject that captures my fancy, my favorite subject is
the natural world, especially animals. I work in a traditional oil
technique, always striving for a personal, painterly expression.
Fieldwork to see my subjects in their own habitat is extremely
important. My travels to accomplish this have included trips to
Mongolia, Kenya, Canada and Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Glacier
National Parks. I take many photos (over 6400 on my 2011 trip to Mongolia) and sketch on location as much as possible. Drawing, for
me, is a fundamental part of painting and, fortunately, I love to draw.
I have found that when you take the time to sit and watch animals, as opposed to just mentally checking off having seen them, they inevitably reveal insights into their lives which are totally separate from any relationship, or perceived value, to humans. The chance to record those moments on canvas is one of the things that gets my creative juices flowing. Animals are all individuals just as we are, with their own habits and quirks. It is this individuality of our fellow sentient beings that I always aspire to communicate in my work along with the beauty and intrinsic value of the places where they live.
The planet Earth belongs to all of us together- humans, animals and plants. If there are no good places for them, then ultimately there will be no good places for us either. We are just barely beginning to comprehend how interconnected and mutually dependent our world is. Perhaps one thing my paintings can do is demonstrate how much there is to lose in a world where human pressure is causing more extinctions and habitat destruction than at any time since the age of the dinosaurs. The natural world has an absolute intrinsic value separate from any impermanent human ones. Communicating that value is one of my goals as an artist. One of my fondest hopes for the future of our species is that we will finally grow up and learn to share.
Professional Affiliations
Society of Animal Artists, Signature member; Board of Directors
Oil Painters of America
California Art Club
Westhaven Center for the Arts
Redwood Art Association
Education
Academy of Art University- BFA Illustration, 1989
Oxford University, Christ Church- Summer Session, 1989
The Illustration Academy- summer sessions in 1989 and 1990
John Seerey-Lester Master Class, 1997
Beartooth School of Art- John Seerey-Lester, 1999; Paco Young, 2001; John Banovich, 2002
Jim Wilcox plein air workshop- 2003
Scott Christensen Ten Day Plein Air Intensive, 2004
Simon Combes art workshop/safari, Kenya, 2004
Selected Shows/Awards
“Art and the Animal”- Society of Animal Artists, 2011
"Fall Juried Open Competition- American Academy of Equine Art, 2011
“Art of the Animal Kingdom XVI”- Bennington Center for the Arts, 2011
“Salon International”- Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art, 2011
“50th Anniversary Exhibition of Art and the Animal”- Society of Animal Artists, 2010
“The Horse in Fine Art: A Salute to the World Equestrian Games”- American Academy of Equine Art, 2010
“Ex Arte Equinus 3”- Art Horse Magazine, 2009
“51st Fall Juried Exhibition” - Redwood Art Association; Janie Walsh Memorial Painting Award, 2009
“Fall Open Juried Competition”- American Academy of Equine Art, 2009
“Art and the Animal”- Society of Animal Artists, 2009
“51st Spring Exhibition”- Redwood Art Association (at the Morris Graves Museum of Art), 2009
“Flora and Fauna” - Sixth Street Gallery, Vancouver, Washington, 2008
“The Spirit of the Horse” - Palos Verdes Art Center, 2008; Third Place Award
“Small Works, Big Impressions”- Society of Animal Artists, 2007, 2008
“Wild Things”-California Art Club, 2007; Juror’s Choice Award
“The Art of the Horse”- New Jersey Equine Art Association, 2006
“American Artists Abroad”- Bennington Center for the Arts, 2006, 2007
“Art and the Animal Kingdom”- Bennington Center for the Arts, 2006, 2007,2008
“Arts for the Parks”- Top 100, 2003
“The Art of Seeing: Nature Revealed Through Illustration”- Oakland Museum of California, 2000, 2003, 2006
Just Outside My Front Door: Flora and Fauna of Kane Ridge”- Humboldt State University Natural History Museum, 2002
“Our Excellent Adventure: Three Wildlife Artists on the Road”- William F. Cody Gallery, 2000
Humboldt Arts Council Membership shows- 1998, 1999, 2000
Artist’s Magazine Art Competition (Wildlife) Finalist-1991
Conservation Activities
President: Art Partnerships for Mongolian Conservation
Member: Ikh Nart Natural Resource Area Management Working Group