While at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, earning my Bachelor of Interior Architecture degree, I was working on a second degree in Fine Arts with a total of 90 additional hours. It is said college is where the spark can be ignited, mine was already burning and with the exposure to the academic realm my art blossomed as I explored various media and subject matter. The watercolors shown are part of a series done to help pay my way through 5 years of college selling to friends, fraternity brothers and others.
Early Works
Showing an early talent for art; sketching and painting with what ever materials were available, I got a real structured start with the gift of a 'Jon Nagy Learn to Draw' set when I was about 8 or 9 years old. The 'Autumn Harvest' is a 1973 version of that first set drawing. The series of 'Mom's Still Life' are of my Mother's collectibles which she was painting so I decided to draw them. I self taught myself to paint in watercolor, a 'friendly' media.
Profile
I am an artist who while pursuing a bachelor's of Interior Architecture degree earned an additional 90 hours class credit in Fine Arts from Kansas State University. Already an avid sketch artist, I continued to paint in watercolor and explored other media on my own. I was fortunate to further my education with Fred Reichman(1925-2005), at the University of California Berkeley, San Francisco Extension, taking his 'Individual Exploration in Drawing and Painting' class for seven years culminating in a Two-Person Art Show at the Extension Gallery. I also had work included in a Student Art Show as well as inclusion in a Faculty Art Show. Part of the curriculum included trips to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Legion of Honor and the DeYoung Museum among others to view, study and draw inspiration to create our own works of art. Gallery field trips and personal travel and exploration helped to expose me to the world of art and artistic expression broadening my approach and appreciation for creating my art. I enjoy regular visits to the Palm Springs Art Museum and participation in Desert Art Center lectures and events, along with Gallery visits that keep me abreast of the current art trends and remind of the bountiful history of art available to us. I continue to paint daily working on a variety works concurrently; from the chair 'portraits', desert landscapes, to twelve 'paintings in progress' for my 'Backyard Pool' Series exploring the joy of a private oasis.
"As an artist, your sense of color, light and mood are all enhanced, requiring an expression to come from your very soul, respectful of the experience before you."
