"Ursula and the Bully" Painting

I was born in Appleton, Wisconsin and raised in Orlando, Florida. I moved to New York City in 1985 where I started my career, got my MFA and raised a family. I have lived in Connecticut since 2005. I define myself as a figurative painter and I also make life size kinetic figurative sculptures. The inspiration for my work dates back to a show I attended at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manet and Velazquez, The French Taste For Spanish Painting. Velazquez's portrait of the king's jester Pablo de Valladolid was described by the French modernist Edouard Manet as the most astonishing piece of painting ever created. He praised the representation of air surrounding the figure and the way the background disappeared. I have recently shown at the Madison Park Gallery in New York City. As part of Art Elevated, a larger than life reproduction of Sophia and the Little Man will hang on a NYC DOT street lamp in the Garment District in Manhattan from early September through October 30, 2018. Several works in my current body of work will be at The Shelfaudt Gallery at the University of Bridgeport Nov. 16, 2018 - Jan. 26, 2019. The gallery has featured important American artists like Robert Motherwell, Red Grooms, Louise Nevelson and Alice Neal. My work is in significant personal art collections including the collection of a two time academy award nominated director.