My work is a representation of what I see.  Life experiences are a constant; we are always seeing and feeling, from the minor to the extravagant.  Beauty, fear, excitement, love, sadness, and peace are all the things that make life what it is.

When I was young aspiring artist, I would marvel at the abilities of masters like John William Waterhouse, John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, William Bouguereau, and many more.  I was not only inspired by the way they mastered their technique in controlling value, color, composition, and drawing, but also the ability to tell stories and relay emotion and experiences in their art.

As an artist, I strive to do the same; my passion is to capture that beauty and evoke those human emotions through my art.  I want the viewer to get lost in my work and be able to relate to and feel what it is that I’m saying.  Yes, I do create art for me; I paint the things I paint because I like them and want to paint them, but if I can create a work of art that causes someone to stop and look because they just cannot help themselves, then I have accomplished one of my goals.

My style is impressionistic realism, you could say.  I do want to have an accurate rendering of my subject, but not every detail needs to be there.  Like a well-written book or musical score, it does not need to be filled with every minor detail in order to tell your story.   There is a place for full detail, and there is a place for simplicity and space –just enough information for your audience to understand and feel what you are saying.  It is about the big picture, the artwork as a whole.

My work often uses the full value scale.  I like to have a high contrast of lights and darks, along with accurate vibrant colors and a variety in brushwork, paint texture, and transparency.

I was first drawn to the art world through illustration and figurative artwork.  I loved the idea of being able to tell a whole story in a single image.  And although that is still a passion of mine, the subject matter is somewhat irrelevant – the goal is still to capture the emotions of life experiences and its natural beauty.  If I find beauty or interest in it, and it speaks to me, then I want to paint it.