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Biography:

ARTIST STATEMENT

I grew up in Western Pennsylvania and attended Edinboro University, where I received my Bachelor?s Degree in Painting with an Art History minor. I?m the youngest of seven children raised by a single mom. My mother, who was an artist herself, gave me my first drawing book at the age of 10. It was an original copy of Figure Drawing for All It?s Worth by Andrew Loomis. The bulk, and greatest part, of my artistic education has come from interacting with and learning from fellow artists and from studying works of art of all kinds. I work primarily in oils, charcoal, and watercolor (gouache). My chosen subject matter generally ranges from figurative works and landscapes, to still-life and interiors.

I?ve participated in many group and solo exhibitions, including Plein Air painting events like Plein Air Easton and Wayne Plein Air and have been an adjunct professor of art at Allegheny Community College for the past several years. I like to look for the design and form possibilities in art which sometimes leads to strong elements of abstraction and suggestion in my work, rather than explicit detail. I love plein air painting because of its immediacy and freshness. Because you must work quickly in most cases, intuition and feeling take over and force you to simplify and look for the essence of what it is that you?re trying to accomplish. There is no better way to develop real skill in painting.