My latest work is a set of canyon, forest, river, and valley
dreamscapes in oil on Ampersand Claybord panels. Childhood
camping trips and more recent motor home travels landed me in
spectacular scenery, which I am compelled to paint either from
memory or from my extensive library of photos taken on location.
The technique for these latest works use layered transparent brush
strokes and simple compositions to result in a watercolor-like image,
but with oils. The clay surface makes this possible, as the drying time
is less than it would be on a gesso panel; the paint soaks into the
clay surface much like a fresco. The images are rendered quickly
with as few brush strokes as possible and the alizarin crimson
underpainting shows through; keeping colors vibrant. I’ve been an
artist since age 12. I remember during a visit to the Exploratorium
in San Francisco, I watched a women paint perfect but random
circles on a large sheet of paper. I really began to paint during a
sketching excursion in Provence with Marie le Glatin Kies, the late
French artist and author. Her magical approach reminded me that I
need not force anything; just observe. En plein air and studio
landscapes are my most common subject but often paint flower and
people portraits. The occasional non-objective series of paintings
helps expand my technique options. I studied art and photography
in high school, college, and graduate school. Art Education and
Computer Science Education courses comprised most of my
graduate work for a Master’s of Interdisciplinary Studies Degree at
Western Oregon University, completed in 1988. For the past 18
years, I’ve provided marketing consulting, graphic design, web
development, illustration, and photography services to small and
medium business. In 2005, I traveled the USA by motor coach,
earning a living by teaching for OSU online and painting landscapes,
portraits and murals.