Taking Leave Painting

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Born and raised in Chicago, my incessant passion for Painting, the Sea and the Tropics inspired me to follow a lifelong dream of living on a tropical island. After visiting the FIJI ISLANDS in the South Pacific I became enchanted with the islands, its' people and the gentle way of life, and boldly decided to move there. A long way from my native mainland, I have resided in Fiji since 1995 and favor Fiji as my home. With the blend of having lived in the heart of Chicago and now living on the ocean in Fiji, I can now paint my favorite theme...The Tropical Ocean. My style exhibits the calmness of Island Living mingled with my perception of which can best be described as Gentle Surreal Escapes. Although a self taught painter I had formal training at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Louisville School of Art in Kentucky. My collective exhibits include several awards for various paintings of diverse media which include oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, colored pencil and 3 dimensional works in both the Chicago area and Fiji; drawings published in a book entitled Letters From the Tribe and a Solo Exhibition at the Woodstock Opera House (Woodstock, IL., U.S.)