Hope Descends Painting

I was born to a blue-collar family in 1955. Kenosha had long been a factory town having two American Motors plants and a series of other manufacturing businesses. Located on Lake Michigan, it acted as a port to many cargo ships coming from all around the world. For many years of my youth, my father served as the Chief Steward for the local auto workers' labor union. Strike times were stressful times around my home. As a youngster I was compelled to draw and drew on everything much to my mother's dismay. After being punished for drawing on my dresser, I became more stealthy by pulling out the drawers and drawing on the back inside boards. My clothes covered up the marks, and I assumed my mother never saw them, because she never mentioned it again. Or maybe she just gave in to my creative inclinations. I believe that artists are born which is to say that not every one is an artist. This view is a little unpopular in America where the mindset is to make everything and everyone equal. True artists never stop exercising their craft; they possess the "inner necessity" coined by Kandinsky. To not create is to deny oneself, for true artists tend to translate their experiences and opinions through their work as if to reaffirm their existence. Creating art is my passion and life's breath. My inspiration is drawn from many sources: literature, culture, living environs and religion for we are complex beings and are influenced by the world around us. I am especially interested in investigating how cultural and religious institutions frame our thinking and behavior, sometimes for the good and sometimes not. All of these influences combine in us and it is our job to ferret each one out to see which are beneficial and which are not. I present these influences to the viewer for their consideration and reflection.