#2 Painting

I was born in Ashland, OH a small farming community in northern Ohio. I currently reside in the mountains of Tennessee. An accomplished artist, my work is known for utilizing 24KT gold leaf and or my signature gold paint in every creation. I draw inspiration from many areas of my life and artists such as Wassily Kandinsky a Russian painter. I love how Kandinsky painted. His paintings illuminated my desire to paint. I want to express how greatly Kandinsky's work influenced me to be the artist I am today. Paul Jackson Pollock is also my favorite inspirational American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. Pollock was widely noticed for his technique of pouring or splashing paint onto a horizontal surface, enabling him to view and paint his canvases from all angles. I draw from his techniques in my creations. I believe my artwork is bold, controversial, and emotional. My previous subject matter has been abstract art, that has been my true love. As my art career is progressing, I find myself with a single focus, to create art the evokes emotion. I use oils, acrylics mostly, on canvas but I also love working with gold. I embellish 24KT gold in every creation, whether it be infused with my signature paint or solid 24KT gold nuggets, or Italian gold leaf. It comes from my love of working with gold leaf. I love to layer colors, blend colors, and try to maintain individual color separations. Art should evoke emotions. I create art to evoke emotion within the person viewing it. Great art evokes emotion in the person interacting with it. Whether it be happiness, joy, fear, patriotic, confusion, or contentment. I believe as an artist if my creations don't spark some type of emotion then I have failed as an artist. A huge influence in my work also comes from the beloved Steve Kaufman who was born in 1960 in The Bronx, New York, the middle child, surrounded by an extended family, many of whom were painters and sculptors that were a significant influence on him and his views on art. His father died when he was four years old. His mother painted high fashion oils on canvas, and he was taught sculpting by his uncles. Kaufman commented on his family, "They taught me that to be an artist is to be always changing. So I tried all different forms of art and today I have 15 different styles that I work in. Art should always be about changing.