Even as a child, years ago, I can remember thinking that, with a pencil in hand, I could trace anything that I could see—and the urge to do that was a constant in my mind. As I grew older, I became more and more skilled at drawing, until finally as a college student I was able to draw very realistically and quite well. For this I was often complimented and rewarded. At the end of my third year of college, I received a scholarship to attend Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, a prestigious summer retreat for young artists.

While I was at Skowhegan I realized that creating great art is not about replicating what one sees in the physical world, but in the interpretation of what one sees in the mind's eye.

I think of my paintings as visual poetry, more than visual novels. As poems are about the "word," my paintings are about the form and the image, but also about metaphor. The boat or the kayak has been a recurrent image in my work for over ten years. It is the vehicle, the vessel, a symbol of the fisherman, or the explorer navigating the mighty and sometimes perilous seas.

Drawing is one of my greatest pleasures, but painting is as well. I paint on paper that is gessoed, so that the oils do not tend to cause the paper to oxidize. Painting on paper that is mounted on a hard surface is very rewarding in that the surface does not bounce back, which is what happens when one paints on canvas. Also, canvas has a textured surface that I like to avoid because I prefer to draw into the smooth surface with pencil, oil bar, charcoal, and other media. Working this way is similar to creating monoprints where one paints on glass or a metal plate with printer's ink and then creates a single impression.

Something that I also enjoy is working around other artists. They can be writers, musicians, or visual artists. A great deal of positive energy is exchanged when artists work around eachother. Working with color is another one of my great loves — sometimes the color is very monochromatic, sometimes it is very concentrated and tropical. The light in Provincetown is a remarkable visual and spiritual experience. When I am there in the summer, I can't help but be influenced by the life along the ocean's edge and the all-pervasive sensation of color and light.

Sizes listed are framed size. All Oil on Paper pieces are on gessoed paper.

Represented at Cove Road: 508.247.9172