ARTIST'S STATEMENT

The three-dimensional aspect of my vineyard paintings evolved to create more dramatic perspective, a fundamental element of landscapes. With a nod to the plein air genre of early California artists, I take the spectacle of nature to a heightened level. By integrating actual stones, leaves, vines and other natural materials found on location with generous amounts of paint, I can express my tactile as well as visual excitement about my subject. Utilizing full spectral changes in color hues and values allows me to coax the viewers’ eye to the horizon, a resting place in my vistas.

Trained in both illustration and fine art at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena California, I apply the foremost technical standards to my work. All materials in my paintings are treated with varnishes and mediums to ensure permanence.

My earlier work was abstract and recently I have ventured back to it, launching a series of paintings based on river rocks. Dramatically scaling up their size allows me to express their uniquely mesmerizing structures through a vast palette of color. Centuries old, my first subjects are remnants of Canadian glaciers, found on annual trips to their coastal rain forests. In the future I plan another rock series based on deserts in the Southwest, all the while continuing my locally-inspired vineyard paintings.

In addition to painting vineyard landscapes and objects of nature, I participate in them as a home winemaker, avid fly fisherman and consummate environmentalist. From my small intimate watercolors to my large-scale canvases and murals, I seek to involve the viewer with my passion for the spectrum of nature.