I was born and raised in Michigan, later moving to central Illinois when I was twelve. I predominately work in watercolor and also enjoy graphite and charcoal. I’ve been painting seriously since 2008 and have been working out of a studio in downtown Normal
I’m a member of the Transparent, Missouri and Illinois Watercolor societies. I will be joining the AWS and NWS this coming calendar year and hope to be participating in several shows sponsored by the affiliations I am part of. Additionally I plan on making my presence know at several local and regional art festivals throughout 2011.
My exposure to formal art education is limited. I have accumulated a handful of academic art instruction spanning three schools: Heartland Community College, Illinois State University and lastly The Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I find inspiration from many other artists and I have a great collection of Northlight Books as well as several editions of Splash and Spectrum to satisfy my art cravings.
Out of the six or so instructors I have worked under, my very first watercolor teacher at Heartland really got me off the ground, wheels turning for me to chase after this goal I have had since I was a kid. Her honest and up front method of instruction coupled with her ability to convey technical basics in watercolor went a long way for me. I absorbed everything I learned from Michelle Peterson and have continued to refine the fundamentals she taught me back on 2006. Soon after, my paintbrush landed at Illinois State and I thought I could grind through a second bachelors at my Alma mater, but work made it impossible to attend the long mid day classes that were required.
Discussions about sliding into a masters program really never amounted to anything productive; perhaps because I didn’t speak to the right people in the art program. I was content to take one last class; and independent study, with Jim Butler. Jim is a good artist and print maker and a great listener. He was one of the few artists at ISU who appreciated figurative work as I did. Jim and I met over the course of the fall 2008 semester and our exchange of ideas and critiques on my work proved valuable to me. I am thankful for his time and I very much enjoyed studying under him. Last but not least was my short tenure at the Academy of Art University in San Fran. Probably the most difficult class work I did. I would have very much enjoyed attending locally, with face to face instruction but the web based coursework was all that I could manage. It was master level work nonetheless but I struggled to get maintain A’s and B’s. The standards were very high and the critiques sometimes seemed almost pendantic. It did show me that I was made of the material required to make it at any art school. The AAU taught technical skill and demanded it; without exception, on every assignment. This was something I hadn’t seen previously in school. The AAU also allowed my figurative and realist leanings to fit in quite nicely with the curriculum, again this was something I had not previously experienced.
The financial burden attending the AAU was too great to continue, so I dropped out of my masters program and decided to look elsewhere for growth. Three artists stick out here: Paul Jackson, John Stoeckely and John Howe. Paul has been a great technical instructor and is a master watercolorist in his own right. I can not deny his influence on my work, I just hope I can mature as an artist and really find my own artistic voice and style. John Stoeckley has opened my eyes up to the business of art, and has shared with me his twenty years of experience doing it full time. His advice has been invaluable and I don’t think I would be here today without his counsel. Last but not least is John Howe, perhaps the preeminent Tolkien artist today. I have been a fan of his work since discovering his art back in the early 90′s. John is caring, honest and most importantly a very successful illustrator who takes time to talk to people like myself about art and the business of making it. The work he does is dear to my heart and a big part of me wishes I could produce fantasy art at the caliber he can and have a demand for it. Unfortunately, I don’t see that reality coming to pass, as there is only enough room for a small handful of fantasy artists to be successful, and John and a select few others are at the top of their game in that genre.
So that leaves me in the here and now. You have the cliffs notes on my art interests, and now all I can tell you is that I very much wish I had done this right out of high school. By now I would have 23 years of experience, which makes me wonder about a great many things. Yet I am satisfied with my progress I have managed over these last four years. I continue to make up lost time and seem to be improving with every painting, as I try fashion new and inspiring creative works of art and leave some footprints for others to see after my short time here has come and gone. If there is more you wish to know, it will require you ask.
Cheers
