From a small town in Wyoming, I was the type who never fit in with one specific crowd as my head was always buried in a sketchbook or I stood observing my surroundings rather than interacting with them.
I went to high school and college in Wyoming but still looked beyond the small town and the four lines that made up the state. I knew I needed to be surrounded by people of diversity and to feed off the energy of a big city. Years ago I made my way to Chicago and amerced myself in the art scene and studied art from all over the world and various eras.
People have always been my focal interest because people are the most complex. Humans for obvious reasons are the most relatable and are so amazingly capable of committing the greatest good and the most terrible evil. I also find myself painting landscapes and cityscapes from time to time because I can’t ignore some of the great beauty that surrounds us.
My paintings are done with two goals in mind. One is to be original to offer a point of view that hasn’t been seen before and the other is to force the viewer to have a response beyond the typical opinions based on personal tastes. I want the viewer to ponder on the subject for a few moments and go beyond the typical five second judgment of whether a work of art is pretty or not.