world wide web! Here you will find various examples of
my creative endeavors; hopefully I have arranged them
in a such a manner that will provide a pleasurable
experience during the course of your visit. It is my
intent to update the paintings as they roll off the
easel, so if you find yourself enjoying the pictures,
do stop by again soon!
Bio In a Nut Shell: (as of 2006)
I have been making art all my life. Dad put a pencil
in my hand at a very early age: after a spoon and
fork, it was my first real tool.
Dad was a technical illustrator for twenty years, he
would draw and paint in his spare time. Here is one of
his plein air landscapes. My Grandfather was an
amazing artist as well...he would tramp around the
Norwegian countryside in the late 1880's, sketching
the landscape, in his early teens. The way my daughter
has taken to painting, I'm a firm believer in the
concept of some level of genetic transfer between
generations of creative ability/insight/aptitude.
Born in 1956 in Santa Monica, California, I grew up in
the ocean; snorkeling, scuba diving and surfing. After
2 years at UC San Diego, I wound up in the art
department at UC Los Angeles, with the intent of
becoming a graphic artist/illustrator. After a year of
classes, I realized that should I continue in this
vein as a profession...there was a strong likelihood
that over time, I might kill my love for making art by
repetitively illustrating others' visions; having
recently discovered "the wood shop", I began to
explore woodworking. In conjunction with several new
artist friends introducing me to the world of fine art
in the language of Rauschenberg, Kline, Jasper
Johns...Rothko, DeKooning and Warhol...I was off on a
whole new adventure, and began taking classes in
photography, figure drawing and printmaking.
Graduating in 1977 with a B.A. in art and design, I
was set on becoming an architect. I hit the road to
the East Coast, first to Boston for 9 months, then on
to rural New England seeking employment as a
carpenter, figuring one should learn how buildings go
together hands-on before one starts designing them.
Over the next couple years my interest and aptitude
drifted more and more towards finely crafted finish
work.
Leaving upstate New York in 1982, I joined two friends
for a 3 month, 600 mile cross country hike across the
southern half of Utah...further deepening my love for
the southwest landscape...finding myself shortly
thereafter in Sedona, Arizona. For the next 22 years I
owned a successful custom design and build furniture
and cabinet studio called, "Quartersawn Architectural
Woodworks". I specialized in a wide range of unique,
edgy work that ranged from territorial / craftsman
style to what I like to call "rocketship". Also during
this time, I got married, built a home, helped raise a
step daughter, and brought a beautiful girl into this
world 9 years ago. I also kept one foot in my
art...mainly photography and printmaking...until I
began painting plein-air (outdoors) in 1994.
I closed Quatersawn's doors in the fall of 2004, and
began painting full time. I have always been an
"in-the-moment junkie", whether it be surfing, skiing,
flying RC airplanes, white water rafting, making
music; but I have found painting, particularly the
immediacy of plein-air painting, to be the most
fascinating, engaging and surprising experience.
Traveling extensively throughout the U.S., Europe,
Indonesia, the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada, I have
become a very visual creature. My paintings are about
a certain quality of light and color.I use a wide
range of subject matter, as I care more about how
light hits something than what is being hit. I hope
you enjoy these works as much as I have in the making
of them!
