"Looking Out-Seeing In" Painting

My father worked for Burroughs Corp. from 1949 until he retired. The result was I almost as nomadic as if I was a military brat. Being a frequent “outsider” made me independent and a loner. Around age 7, having thoroughly explored the medium of finger painting and crayons I found Jon Gnagy on TV and learned to draw. My folks even bought me a Jon Gnagy Learn to Draw set which became my first offical Art tools. I began oil painting at age 12 when I took a night class at a community center with a bunch of “old ladies” (probably in their 30’s) who doted on me. Without realizing it I found my life long obsession. After high school in 1969 I went in the military. After discharge I moved to Los Angeles. I went to college on the GI Bill in the 1970s when the state had a great, affordable college system and graduated CSUN with a BA, art major, anthropology minor. Knowing I liked to eat I focused my talents toward Commercial art moving from production to graphic design to illustration to photography to large format digital printing, etc. As I became deeper involved in this career I put my paint brushes away to concentrate on my work in commercial art. After a long and winding road which included moving from Los Angeles to Shreveport, La. to Prescott, Az. and back to Los Angeles and many hats along the way I declared myself retired officially. I turned around and found my easel still standing there giving me the stink eye for having been ignored for the past 40 years and I began again to court my obsession of oil painting.
I am mainly a Figurative painter. I always loved the Dutch painters even though I thought they were a little over romantic and dramatic. I also love bright colors. What you see is the result of all that. My interest in Anthropology fed my interest in painting people as themselves, to themselves. I also enjoy a little abstract work on occasion and find it a great pallet cleanser for me to move on from a painting I became involved with.