About

I drew constantly as a kid. Recess was my time to sketch, not swing from the monkey bars. I would illustrate cars in full environments, recreate corporate logos on my desk at school, and I burned through those fruit flavored markers every couple of months. It was probably enough to drive my parents crazy. So they hatched a brilliant plot to enroll me in an oil painting class, so that I could study under a real artist. Hence, my formal training began at the age of eight, under the instruction provided at the Ilona Ritler Gallery in Bellevue, WA.

After graduating from Washington State University with my Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts, I launched myself into the graphic design world and put that logo fetish and art training to work. Somewhere around 2006, I was getting a strong urge to get back into oil painting, so I finally pulled out a canvas and brushes and started back up again. These first few pieces were done in a more traditional style.

Fast forward about 3 years, and on a vacation with my wife found us looking at art by a Russian artist who used a palette knife in a unique way that I just loved. I was inspired by that technique, and have all but thrown away my brushes since.

Why palette knives, or as the Spanish say, "espatula?" Because with the knife, I feel like I can be more expressive, worry less about details, and get more into the idea of the moment, rather than obsessing about accurate visual articulation. I work to create a sense of deep space, and use the paint to develop a three dimensional surface. I want these images to conjure up an old memory, to entice you to consider making a new one. It's the "what if" of putting yourself into the environment that drives my artwork.