I use the best quality archival materials I can, meaning I purchase from the one local supply shop when I can, and from a well known wholesaler on-line when I need to. My work is framed by local, established professionals ~ local shops and a woodworking artisan for unusual requests. I work in my private studio which affords light, space for inventory, and a place to visit with collectors and friends to talk about art.

I use a kind of minimalist's style to create. I have a limited primary palette, and I paint what I call the energy of a subject.  My best paintings are confident and decisive. I am pursuing an energy I see and am trying to capture, and in my need to keep learning and excelling, I want to be able to capture it in the first strokes of paint. I have a distinct style because of this approach.  I have found a lot to explore and learn in this way as well, and that suits the restless nature of my creativity. I prefer to paint by passion, not by rules. 

I studied at a NY State University and took a refresher painting course there as well many years ago.  I learned much about process through experimentation, and much about reasons why through critique.  The main technical lesson I kept was fat over lean for oils because it is an issue of quality and longevity.  The other great lesson I learned was how to talk about art in a critical way without criticism. 

"Winter Sleep" ~ Up Front Gallery, November 2014 at the Academy of Fine Arts, Lynchburg, VA

I had also immersed myself in the history of art, mostly European and Central/South American, intrigued by the narratives and culture that created such stunning and rich art. This is the third, and most important lesson about art.  Experiencing art forms from all times in history and from all over the world is the best self-education you can think of.    It is the doorway to understanding humanity.  I have come to believe art is communication and that  I am part of the longest line of all in history ~ before there was math, there was some form of art; before there was speech, there was some form of art. Such a connection is important because it is good to think on things, to contemplate and to question. There is a value to art  much like hope and science. The future is made by the mechanics to do so, but not before the leap of faith to imagine it ...  

​I am currently exploring cave art and contemporary American art.