Control and Release #7 Painting

I have been interested in art since I was a young child. My mother is an artist, and she had her art books lying around for me to explore. Growing up in Washington, D.C., I had access to and would visit the museums frequently. I can remember copying works by Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Hopper, Salvador Dali and others around the age of 11. In high school, I would spend my study hall in the art room working or helping the teacher with the equipment and supplies. In 1983, I began working as a horticulturist dealing with annual/perennial gardens, trees and shrubs, houseplants, aquatic ponds and gardens, and landscape construction. Eventually, I worked my way up to general manager of a few landscape companies managing large shopping center grounds and commercial/residential landscape design, installation, and maintenance. I won the mayor’s award for the best landscaping for a hotel in 1989. Starting in 1991, I worked in the restaurant business and quickly rose to executive chef. I worked for several, high-volume restaurants, independent and multi-unit operations, in the Washington, D.C. area. I designed and created seasonal menus and opened four new restaurants, including one in Jack Kent Cooke stadium. I was the Washington, D.C. Bartender’s Ball food chairman for two years in a row. I ran booths at many food festivals in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. After my first daughter was born, I left the restaurant industry to become a stay-at-home father and eventually go back to school to earn two bachelor’s degrees. From 2012 through present day, I got a job as an art teacher at a brand new, International Baccalaureate school in McKinney, Texas. I developed the course outlines and curricula for the Visual Arts and Film courses. I eventually became the Fine Arts Department Head, and the Service-Learning Coordinator. I created the school logo/mascot design, served as the Character Development Chairman for several years, and was awarded teacher of the year for 2018. During this time, I completed two master’s degree programs in education and art. My hobbies include riding motorcycles, fixing anything I can get my hands on, woodworking, playing guitar and writing songs, writing poetry, cooking, gardening, and training animals such as dogs, horses, zorses, zedonks, zebra and even a black bear. I mostly create paintings, but I have experience in jewelry, ceramics, metal casting, printmaking, photography, installations, conceptual art, welding, and glass work.