River Bend Painting

Artist and Activist that has blended both art and action in the Sierra Nevada for decades. Using his art to inform the public conscience in preservation and conservation of our natural heritage. Anyone that has fished for trout in Hope Valley, hiked in the Mount Rose Wilderness, watch the wild horses of Nevada roam, recreated on Tahoe’s undeveloped East Shore or toured the Thunderbird Lodge, have enjoyed the fruits of his work.  While known for his large scale oil paintings, his art works also encompass skateboards, logos, political and environmental works, underwater art and recently the design and production of the California Lake Tahoe License Plate which raises millions of dollars for conservation and restoration in Lake Tahoe.   Many pieces are done peinture sur le motif  on whatever surfaces were available, whether napkins, cigar boxes or sandpaper. All of these works reflect the spiritual connection with his surroundings while hiking, diving, biking, skiing and paddling throughout the mountain ranges of the West.  Mentoring with both renown artists and innovators of the modern environmental movement helped form his ability to use art to combine the ubiquitous beauty of nature while questioning our relationship with it.  His philosophy is that the viewer is in serious trouble most of the time, like floundering in a visual swamp and the artist would be remiss in their duty if they did not try to drain the swamp as quickly as possible and try to get the viewer up to dry ground, or for God’s sake at least throw them a rope.