CV Highlights

BIRDS IN ART

Five of my paintings have been juried into the prestigious Birds in Art international exhibition. The works included an oil in 1998, an egg tempera on paper in 2002, and watercolor on paper in 2007, 2014, 2015. Resting in the Wind, 2014, was primarily painted from life on the beach in Avalon, NJ. From each of these exhibitions my paintings were selected for the subsequent tours. The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum purchased two of my paintings, Killdeer and Shelter, for their permanent collection.

PUBLISHED IN SPLASH 19: ILLUSION OF LIGHT

Gracie, a commissioned portrait of an Irish setter, was juried into SPLASH 19: Illusion of Light. 126 paintings were chosen out of 1700 watercolors from around the world.

AWARD OF MERIT

The Kimono and Birds on a Vase, both painted from life, were juried into the Utah Watercolor Society Fall Exhibition 2015 by Thomas Schaller. The Kimono received Award of Merit.

ARTISTS FOR LAHAINA

Two paintings of the delightful, endangered I’iwi sold, 2023

INTERVIEW

May 2021: Arches, a French paper mill, created a documented interview discussing my work. The video can be viewed on Arches' website. Arches is the most widely used watercolor paper internationally.

Art with an Environmental Conscience

Many transitions in the materials I painted with over the years led to a great depth of knowledge. Determined to understand the toxicology of the materials required for me to paint my artistic vision safely, I researched watercolor papers worldwide for many years and studied the toxicology of pigments.

I began art classes at a very young age continuing through two bachelors of fine arts equaling 8 years total. Never once did an instructor speak of safe handling procedures or teach toxicology of the art materials we worked with. In fact, one promoted the use of lead white. The M. Graham & Co. representative told me he receives approximately one call per week from an artist struggling with reactions to art materials. 

One winter morning, 2023, with no intention to write a book, the first few chapters spontaneously flowed out of me. Several classic books on artist's materials exist, Ralph Mayer and Mark David Gottsegen each wrote one. My book’s focus leans heavily toward and is more in-depth on watercolor, although pigments are universal for all mediums. My book incorporates more current and thorough information on pigment toxicity than found in those two classics. Thanks to generous answers to my many questions by fine arts papermakers worldwide my information on watercolor papers is quite extensive. I provide excellent resources for artists interested in pursuing egg tempera. Relating our lives and work to the environmental crisis of our times, I explicitly discuss why we should care about the materials we purchase and paint with. My inclusion of examples of the influence of art materials on transitions in Western art history thrills me.

"This book about my journey evolved into its own journey. The original intent to share my research on pigments and papers grew from the opening chapter, Navigating Safely, as negative comments spurred responses and the need for a deeper understanding of how materials and techniques reflect the artist’s times surfaced."  

Still in writing phase, the technical section requires extensive work. I am happy to share a pdf of the book in progress for free at the moment, as long as you provide constructive responses in return.

Contact me []

Study Art

I teach private and semi-private classes. I am also an Associate Faculty for University of Utah Lifelong Learning. Most of my classes I teach via Zoom.

Since 1998 I have taught figure drawing, foundation drawing, painting with watercolor, gesture drawing and painting of animals and birds. I prefer to not teach demo classes. Instead, I teach students the principles and foundations of art: various drawing skills, understanding values -- using them to create strong compositions and realistic representation of form on a two dimensional surface, and creating atmosphere. I focus on strengthening your vision as an artist including exploration of the wide range of mark making and techniques possible with watercolor. I also focus on selection and composition of motif. My intent is to give you the skills to paint without reliance on copying an instructor's every move. I continually encourage each of you to find your unique way of painting.

If you are interested in pursuing art instruction with me:

Contact me for private or semi-private classes []

Contact UofU Lifelong Learning if you are interested in classes with small groups of 10

https://continue.utah.edu/lifelong/instructor/16374