Artist’s Statement

We live in a challenging, volatile time. I believe that people are looking for a way to escape their fears and hope that my art may help. I hope that my work can bring a sense of peace and simplicity, away from the complexities of our daily lives.

I paint and draw things in the natural world to try and bring an appreciation to people that may not otherwise experience it, to feel positive and remind them that there is so much in the power of nature.

I grew up spending much of my youth walking out in the mountains of Vermont, looking at nature in every direction, searching for color and form in even the simplest of objects, a tree, a rock, a leaf and more complex sights like reflections on a beaver pond, the first snow on mountain tops, the colors of the changing seasons and long winter shadows on snow covered fields.

Really looking at my subjects, I love to see all the color and subtlety of shape that others may not necessarily see, then translate that in paint on my watercolor paper.

A professor of mine at RISD, Thomas Sgouros, would say, “try to look at the other side of a subject, that which you cannot see and make your art represent all sides of the subject, with line, color and shading”. I try to accept that challenge in every work that I create.

At the start of every piece, I get excited because I have no idea where it will take me, how it will evolve or how it will turn out.

I have always loved to draw, to have light define volume, shape and color, whether on a person’s face or the feathers on a birds wing. I love the way the pencil, pen or brush can represent that.

My goal as an artist is to bring happiness to the viewer, surprise them with a different point-of-view and deliver a level of quality and skill that stirs.

Recently, my focus has been on sharks. I want to express and share the awe that I have for these majestic and powerful creatures and hope that my paintings do justice to their beauty and strength.

I also hope that my work can help raise awareness to the plight of these overfished and over-feared animals, many species of which are critically endangered.

If you are interested to learn more about sharks and shark conservation, please visit:

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy at atlanticwhiteshark.org The Conservancy’s mission is to support scientific research, improve public safety, and educate the community to inspire white shark conservation.

Oceana at oceana.org Oceana is devoted to marine conservation and advocacy and is the largest global organization that does so exclusively.

Project Aware at projectaware.org This group works with scuba divers across 182 countries around the globe to protect underwater environments.