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The person behind the brush
Painter, Writer, Wildlife Advocate, and Fly Fisherman.
“We are what we were” declared Oliver Mathews in Leaving the Bones Behind as Alzheimer's began its grey matter crawl. That remains the most highlighted line in my first novel. However, Oliver was wrong, I think. “We are what we become.” That would be my do-over.
An example? My photo shot. That’s what I looked like when I set my pen aside after 10 years and 3 novels, found a group of talented artists and began to paint. With an abundance of curiosity, little fear and a willingness to let intuition guide my strokes and color choices, I embarked. Every mark I make is my attempt to capture a moment - the point of cross-over between feeling and thought. Do I know what that means? No, but it's real. Sometimes it works. Other times those marks take me everywhere. When that happens the clarity I sense is crystal and heart filling. That's why I paint. Hopefully you'll find a little of that in my work. All art is a gift, I think. A story perhaps. Or an illusion -- some mix of shape, color, word, sound, or dimension that express.
Please know that you're invited to poke around in my gallery any time you want at your leisure -- and maybe, just maybe, you'll find something new each time that speaks just to you. My mission is simple: to create, share and add value to your life.
By the way I don’t look like the guy in the picture anymore. More wrinkles, more gray hair, less of it -- but my form? Solid. Same heart. And my soul - now 75 years in the making? Let's just say my brush never runs dry from the lack of a juicy paint.
If you like what you see during your brief tour, know that I love e-mails and the opportunity to connect. Have a great day and in the meantime, I'll try makin' art.
My art business has been designated as a "Trusted Art Seller" with the Art StoreFronts Organization, which means you can shop with confidence and know that I stand behind the quality and value of my products.
Inspiration
One now distant day in a canyon by a river I spotted marks. Petroglyphs eight to ten thousand years old. Human expression. Fingerprints, stick figures, animals -- all defining marks of what being human means. When I touched them I felt awe, the desire to want to know the makers, share their stories and just be in the presence of what they left behind. That's what these marks on 50 million year old canyon walls, scribed on colorful layers of basalt and ash dramatized. Marks of form, shape, thought, and feeling left behind as soul food for generations to come.
Flash forward. All artists sense the digital age has forever changed art. AIl art? Maybe. But I'd like to think that what comes from the soul, stays there and is a wellspring like no other. When mark making I think about those ancient fingerprints, feel the awe and want to give back -- that's what inspires me.
Techniques
I love the feel of paint, of working out of control and watching pigments flow and separate into mindless directions. Just apply the pigment and whatever happens does. I usually work with just a few complimentary colors and tonal accents here and there. Oils, oil and wax, watercolor, acrylics, inks, collages, and their mixtures - are all fair game in my studio. When using water based media, synthetic paper (YUPO-like) is a wonderful surface for me because it repels, fights for story control and demands engagement. Many of my award winners and personal favorites have resulted from experimenting on these surfaces with my own unique formulations (yes, Doctor Watson, the chemist, enters my studio on occasion :).
Random Facts
I went to school for two decades, earned the nickname "Doctor Watson" quickly followed by "I presume," and spent too much time in my life thinking of clever responses.
I may seem normal but I talk to dogs, frequently.
I'm way too intense about everything I do. My first date told me that. My wife tells me that every time I step into a river to fly fish.
I'm a sponge for soaking up cultural differences and living abroad in Singapore for 4 years provided the perspective I needed to change my direction in life and flip it upside down.
I have multiple passions: science, research on about any topic, history, writing, and mastering the skill behind whatever I attempt to do -- and most of all I love to create.
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