Artist's Statement & Biograpghy

I like to think of my work as being firmly rooted in the American realist tradition. Some of my favorite artists include Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer, and Charles Sheeler. Going back in time, the early Flemish painters such as Van Eyck and the painters of the German Renaissance such as Durer have deep roots in my artistic background as well. My paintings are most successful for me when the composition of the painting, its color, and its light come together to create the mood I have in mind.

In my ‘signature’ paintings I have placed an emphasis on gardens and views from windows, usually with a related still life in the foreground. This has led also to a series of paintings of gardens by the sea, and windows by the sea. It also allows me to express the contrasts of a cultivated world of gardens, interiors and architecture with the natural landscape.

My home in Florida provides a vast array of subject matter with tropical themes, foliage and architecture. These themes and the related strong compositional elements have allowed me to explore the color, light, and space which play an important role in all of my work.My latest focus has been a series of paintings of the rivers and other waters that I paddle in my kayak. My waterproof digital camera is my constant companion in the kayak, recording impressions and views for me to work on later in the studio.I hope to paint these landscapes before they disappear, and I hope to influence the preservation of these places for future generations.I would like my paintings to express the feelings of romance and wonder that are inherent in these landscapes.

 

Collections

Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York

Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

Yale Summer School, Norfolk, Connecticut

Print Club of Rochester, Rochester, New York

Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, Lincoln, Nebraska

Chase Manhattan Collection

AT&T Collection

Western Electric

Midlantic Bank of New Jersey

Queen City Bank of New Jersey

Reader's Digest

Chittenden Bank, Burlington, Vermont

Merchants Bank, Burlington, Vermont

State of Vermont, State House Purchase

MBNA

Private Collections in the United States and France

 

Biography

My formal training in art consists of completing my B.F.A. degree at Syracuse University and my M.F.A. at Indiana University, along with a summer at the Yale Summer School of Music and Art.I have been showing my work in Competitive and Invitational shows since 1963.These include four Mainstreams shows of international painting, five shows at the Butler Institute of American Art, A Sense of Place with the Mid-America Arts Alliance, Artists’ Choice, Figurative Art in New York, two shows of Art on Paper at the Weatherspoon Gallery, Greensboro, North Carolina, and six Arts for the Parks competitions, Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Recently, in Florida I have shown work in two national competitive shows in Punta Gorda, FL, and in ‘Art Encounter’, an all-Florida show in Naples.I was a semi-finalist in the American Artist Magazine 70th Anniversary Competition in 2007.