ABOUT THE ARTIST

“What is art?” 

Is it an expression of our humanity or that we exist? A dialogue concerning man's interaction with his fellow man or nature. Or an allusion or fantasy of our own creations. Throughout time it has been used simply to record history. It is all of these and many more, but I believe ALL art in all its forms comes down to one of two things. In music, theater, written word, painting, drawing, sculpture, film, television, or any combination we are either PROJECTING or REFLECTING the world around us! Think about that for a moment. In a love song you either express longing, rejection, or pleasure and satisfaction. And each emotion either projects or reflects that feeling or emotion.

As a painter, I primarily reflect or record things or moments I see. On occasion, I may make a statement about my faith or politics in which case I would be projecting how I feel regarding a subject or event. An abstract artist tries to express himself with colors, patterns, shapes, textures, lines, and forms. Whatever it is you do, hear, or see if the effect or point the artist/creative is trying to form is achieved then you have the greatest success. If the artist’s meaning or point is not fully comprehended, it still can be a highly successful work none-the-less. Personally, I get the greatest satisfaction knowing the piece did for the viewer exactly what I had hoped.

In 2008 while playing around with florescent and glow-in-the-dark paints the opportunity arose to enter a show with works inspired by Andy Warhol in Orlando. Having always been a music and movie lover I started playing with the idea of creating pop star portraits using these new paints as Warhol did in his time. It was reminiscent of the posters in our bedrooms or dorms. But my paintings had the added elements of these new paints. With a black light, they now took on a life of their own and became much more dynamic. Under its influence, the subject almost came alive. And the subsequent elimination of all light gave the piece an eerie ghost-like quality. Quite Often I've said the subject's memory lingers in our mind as does the image we now see. So, when you have one of my pieces hanging on the wall, they are on display 24 hrs. A day!

I call this body of work 3 phase paintings because there are 3 distinct levels of light. Regular light, black light, and no light are all individual and unique pieces. In essence 3 paintings in one. I've also incorporated the same techniques to a few watercolor and pen and ink pieces.