My art is similar to the daily conversations conducted with the people around me. Sometimes deep, some shallow, to inform, share joy and sometimes to irritate. I create in the Pop-Symbolist category of visual art exploring what Paul Gauguin called the “mysterious centers of thought.” Early in my career, I was looking for the proper visual vehicle that would allow me to express myself on any topic, in any number of mediums that is visually consistent but not restrictive. I have now been working with these archetypal figures for over twenty years. In many ways I think what happened is that I didn’t find them, but that they found me. My artistic process is a transaction between my inner world and the outer world. The source imagery is collected from dreams, research, current events, art history, random discovery, religion, and pop culture. It’s at the end of my creative process where my passions and intelligence stimulates the audience’s intelligence and creativity. I work to engage a wide audience with accessible images open to interpretation.
Biography
I moved to West Virginia to teach art at West Liberty University. I have been teaching there for almost fifteen years, and I am now the Chair of the Department. From my studio in Wheeling, I work in the pop symbolist genre as well as painting plein air and cityscapes in oil. My background as a freelance illustrator and training as a figurative artist means I have a wide skill base that I apply to my personal projects or to the instruction of young artists. I am dedicated to possibilities.
Other Creative Skills
Drawing, Painting