I am a realist painter of figures, animals and landscapes, who favors an impressionist’s palette and the directness of “alla prima” painting. My influences include the American Impressionists for their light and color, James Abbott McNeill Whistler and John Singer Sargent for their masterful composition, and the brilliant brushwork and romantic realism of the contemporary master Richard Schmid. I have recently become enthralled with the mystical lyricism of Thomas Wilmer Dewing, and his unabashed pursuit of beauty for it’s own sake.

I am drawn to a variety of subject matter, but have a strong preference for figurative work. I love the challenge of capturing the feel of a model’s pose, of the attitude of the sitter. I like trying to paint the spirit of an animal, and the attitudes they convey in a given moment or stance. But I also love the feel of painting outdoors, especially in brilliant sunshine, where strong shadows create drama, and I love trying to capture the softness of dappled light. I love the mystery of twilight, and the golden glow of evening as the sun is setting. And especially I love the night, where the landscape is shrouded in mystery and quiet, and where natural and artificial light together illuminate scenes with colors from another world.

I work primarily with oils because I love their workability, the substantive feel to the body of the paint, and the intensity of color. I love the contrasts you can get with transparent and opaque color, and the feel of the paint as you push it and model the surface into your subject. With pastel, I love the intensity of pure color, and the directness of the stroke. The relative speed with which you can build up the pigment and model the surface is exciting to me, and it always feels like a contest between the materials and me, fighting to make the painting come alive.

While I often develop my paintings as I work, more complex pieces will be more carefully composed. Composition is of critical importance to me, and I’ll spend much time positioning elements to make the most effective image I can. I love to create paintings that have a contrast of finish to them – areas carefully resolved juxtaposed with areas that are broadly handled. That balance is a challenge to get right, and I am always in search of that special place between saying what needs to be said and over-refining a piece to the point of dullness.