Brief Bio/History
This time of year, students at the local University ask local artists if they may do a brief bio/history on them for an assignment that they’ve been given. It’s always fun to speak with these students in an interview setting, but frankly many of them are so busy that I thought it might be handy for them to use the following. Besides, I guess it’s a nice thing to share with blog followers too…
Bio info:
I was born here and have lived here all my life. I love this town, but at times also despise it. It’s akin to a co-dependent relationship- one that you sometimes cannot live with but can never live without. I guess many things are that way.
I sold my first piece in October 1988. I paid the power bill. I was hooked. Not only did someone love the piece, but it met our needs in a really fun way. Since then, I’ve tried just about every medium in the arts that one can try: oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, clay, wax, textiles, ceramic/granite mosaic, etc etc etc. And I love them all, but above all I enjoy the challenge of oil painting, especially plein air (pronounced plen air), and painting landscapes onsite. Another favorite is portraiture. Nothing gives such gratification as getting that person, pet, or even homestead’s real character & personality as your client sees it, and enjoying their reaction when you do “get it.”
The process of creation is, to me, at once sacred and common. I’ve learned to not worship the hype that so saturates the art world, yet cling to the joys of creation itself (words of wisdom from my son in a difficult time in my life). Approached this way, my art brings freedom, healing and escape, both to me and (I pray) to others. What inspires? Just about everything. In the same way that if a soul is really hurting, s/he receives wisdom from Above in the smallest things (billboards, oldies songs, oatmeal) because of the hunger of the heart, so it is with art. Of course, wild, wonderful natural creations drive one to the canvas, but, with me, so have dark alleys, pears, and my children holding my guitars in perfect north light. One never knows when the light will strike.
And the creation itself: simply placing the medium (like paint) onto the substrate (like a canvas) and watching it take shape. I’d like to say that the technique is always the same but that would get pretty boring. And, as mentioned before, the media and substrates themselves vary considerably, and it’s nice.
Having also been trained in the picture framing process, I usually produce my work in total, all the way to the dust cover and bumper pads on the back of the piece, so that there’s no question about the quality that is delivered to my collectors.
Technicals aside, though, the very best thing about doing what I do is the people. God lives in the spaces between us and when others can see His life and the beauty of His creation through these works, it’s the ultimate high, giving a feeling of great purpose and posterity. Countless are the times in these 20 plus years when He’s had an opportunity to shine through something as simple as producing a picture of someone or something for someone else. This is good stuff, and I’m privileged and grateful to be a part.
