Artist Statement

I am a working studio artist, producing primarily oil paintings, including portraits, still-life, landscapes and seascapes. 

Most recently, my focus has been on my Beach Series.  I sit at the beach and observe, sketch and photograph to prepare references for my paintings.  I search for visual inspiration from the patterns and colors of nature - the sea, sky and sand - as well as emotional connection to the people I observe on the beach. 

Back in my studio I study my references looking to develop a composition that will attract and engage a viewer.  I want my paintings to portray a "slice of life".   I want people to be reminded of past experiences - perhaps a dazzling day filled with sun, surf,  family and friends, or alternatively, a quiet afternoon spent in a solitary, introspective walk along the water's edge.  

Often I spend a day or two completing a small alla prima painting.  I do this to test out a composition.  If the small painting has strength, I then have the confidence it is worth the time and effort to scale up the composition and explore the additional color notes, more varied brushwork and visual details of a larger painting.  The end product is hopefully an evocative representation of a time, place and experience remembered and forever preserved in a painting.