"Casino Cafe" Fine Art Print

A former architect as well as museum exhibit designer and builder, l now work as an artist, painter and photographer.

I have participated in a wide range of exhibits over the years, and have sold work both nationally and internationally through Saatchi Art.

I particularly enjoy this quote by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki on Japanese esthetics:
"We do not dislike everything that shines, but we prefer a pensive luster to a shallow brilliance, a murky light that, whether in stone or an artifact, bespeaks of a sheen of antiquity...We do love things that bear the mark of grime, soot, and weather, and we do love the colors and the sheen that call to mind the past that made them".

My photography reflects that sentiment, and provides inspiration for my paintings.

“Pentimento” is a term often used to define the revealing of painting or part of a painting that has been covered over by later painting. I have always been attracted to the history implied by this term.

My abstract painting method echoes this concept, involving constant experimentation as I make marks and cover them, leaving earlier marks revealed below later layers. As I add layers and work towards completion, the paintings eventually develop their own history.

In addition to the above, I have always believed that the secret to keeping one's work fresh lies in experimentation and trying new things. Long an admirer of loose watercolor work I took a workshop with well known watercolor artist Andy Evansen. When working in watercolor I start and finish a painting in one sitting. Watercolor is fluid and transparent, and rather unforgiving. For me spontaneity and looseness is key. The whole trick is to work wet and allow the fluid paint colors to mix and merge, allow for soft edges, and maintain enough control to successfully complete a painting.
I tend to work in watercolor during the summer. I get inspired by the local landscape as I ride my bike.

I continue to roam the high plains of the western United States with my camera and photograph the old, weather beaten surfaces and patinas of buildings and vehicles. These rich surfaces and compositions provide inspirations for my layered oil and acrylic paintings and for my watercolors.