ABOUT

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and in 2002 received a BFA in painting from Washington State University, in Pullman, Washington. I continued my studies in painting and drawing at Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona, where I received an MFA in 2006. I now reside in Emporia, Kansas with my wife and daughter, and have been teaching painting and drawing at Emporia State University since 2009.

 

Although I work with a diverse range of subject matter and materials, my process always begins with a subject that I have directly perceived and experienced. The clarity and accuracy of my depictions range from painstaking verisimilitude found in some of my portraits and still lifes, to surreal interpretations of remembered experiences in my Aggregation series, moody self-portraits, and romantic impressions of the landscape.

 

A relentless urge to create and the rewarding satisfaction I find in the process of studying and creating art keeps me motivated to continue making. I am fascinated by the countless strategies artists have devised to depict the qualities of light and describe form and space on a two-dimensional surface. This fascination has led me down the road of studying art from the past and present, and exploring a wide range of materials and subject matter.

 

I appreciate the connections art fosters across time and space. When looking at art from the past, I enjoy learning about the life experiences of historic humans and what the world looked like during their time. I also want to learn as much as I can about the materials and methods past artists have developed so that I can carry that knowledge with me and pass it along to the next generation through my profession as an art educator and through the artwork I leave behind.