Q: How long have you been an artist? Please tell us a little about your chosen medium? Do you do any other creative arts?
A: I’ve been interested in being creative for as long as I can remember but I distinctly recall when I was around 12-13 deciding that this is what I wanted “to do”. That was around the same time my mom gave me her old wooden paint box with the oil paints she had dabbled with in her younger days.
So it’s fair to say I started pretty early on with the hard stuff lol. I’ve loved oil paints from the very beginning, the smell, the texture, the richness and depth of color that it offers and I’ve been seriously hooked on it ever since. My heart skips a beat when new tubes of paint arrive in the mail or I pop into my local art supply to pick some up.
Q: Have you been trained, and if so from what institution? Or are you self taught?
I received my BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1995
Q: You have been featured in Terra Firma because many of your images depict nature elements, can you tell us a little about why you use them in your paintings?
A: I like to use Nature as a mirror and metaphor of the human condition. Depiction of hybrid creatures has always existed in my work and for many years it was primarily human animal hybrids but some years back nature started playing a more significant role and being reflected in my work in a new way, not merely as background but as a major component.
Q: Was your family supportive of your artistic endeavors?
A: Yes my family was always supportive and encouraged me to follow my dreams and pursue my art development even when they might not have understood my paintings they have always been great cheerleaders for me.
Q: Is there someone special who has encouraged your work and your path as an artist, if yes tell us about this person and how they have influenced your path as an artist?
A: The person who inspired me the most and I believe I learned the most about expressing myself from was one of my painting instructors in Art School , Franklin Williams. Not only does he have a compelling way to get you, the student, to dig into your own depths and pull some of that inner world out onto the canvas: but his thoughtful dedication to his own intricate, obsessive, powerful work was incredibly inspiring for me.
Q: What are your hopes and dreams or future goals, where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?
A: I try to keep things in the present and not too far down the road ahead of me as I’m usually completely engrossed in the “current” work. But at some point I’d like to take a break from producing work for gallery shows to do some visual storytelling in book format, I’ve had ideas brewing for years but haven’t gotten around to that yet.
Q: If you could meet any artist who is no longer living, who would it be and why?
A:I know this is sort of cliche but I’d have to say Salvador Dali, he seemed to always be having a fun and extravagant time and I imagine he would be interesting to party with.
Q: Tell us your thoughts on the environment and preservation, there are many problems now for the natural environment, endangered species, global climate changes, what concerns you the most and why? As an artist do you feel there is anything you can do?
A: It’s pretty depressing on a regular basis hearing about species becoming extinct and the poisoning of our oceans , humans continual encroachment, global warming etc. Honestly its pretty overwhelming and hard to know what to do to have an effect on any change at all. But as an artist and the type of work I do is really an effort to get the viewer to look inside of themselves to find a bit of truth in the dichotomies of life, to see the connection of all living things and the fragile nature of it all, I like to take viewers on a fantastical journey but since duality plays a heavy role in my artwork I don’t let them get too far into fantasy land without a bit of darkness and mystery that hopefully encourages introspection. I hope with that introspection my work can in some small way inspire someone to their better self and in turn will be paid forward to the planet and living creatures that inhabit it as well.