The Style
Authentic style is not conscious or deliberate. Most of my best work is done when I am in a meditative state, most open to sensations and able to translate them in my work. I am not bound to any specific technique. The subject of my work determines its own best mode of expression. I paint what appeals to me, primarily in oil but do some watercolor as well. I choose scenes and subjects that seem relevant to people’s lives, environs and what’s going on around them, whether it is an open field, an urban intersection, a bowl of peaches or a little girl.
The Work
I enjoy painting on location, regardless of the season and surroundings. Working from life in this manner is the best way to get the actual colors, edges and true experience of what I am trying to translate to canvas. This can be particularly challenging when working on large canvases such as “Twilight on LaSalle Street Bridge”, which required a rented truck to bring the 84”x72” canvas to and from the site and an assistant to ensure it didn’t blow away into traffic, bystanders or the nearby river. Then I return to my studio to refine the work. This process can take months or even years with pieces such as “Sunset at Wells and Wacker” or “Playing Around the Magnolia Tree”.
While much of my work is large scale cityscapes and landscapes, I also paint portraits and still-lifes. I enjoy doing commissions because of the collaborative process between me and the client.
Education
I took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago when I was 11 years old. I later studied at the American Academy of Art, also in Chicago, before and after getting my B.A. at Washington University in St. Louis. I also studied at the Palette and Chisel Academy in Chicago, The Lyme (CT) Academy of Fine Arts, and the Bougie Studio in Minneapolis.
Selected Exhibitions
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, March 15- May 10, 2020, “Life Examined- The Impressionistic Realism of American Art”
Hindes Fine Art, San Antonio, TX, 2018, “Inaugural Show”
Sofa Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2016
Jeffery Breslow Gallery, Chicago, IL, 2016
The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR, 2013-2014, “ Face to Face”
Northern Trust Bank, Chicago, IL 2012, one-man show
Robert Morris University, Chicago, IL, 2011, one-man show
SG Grand, Chicago, 2011, IL, one-man show
University of Chicago Hospital, Chicago, IL, 2010, “Alternating Visions- 12 Chicago Artists”
Union League Club, Chicago, IL, 2006, one-man show
Maple Avenue Gallery, Evanston, IL., 2004, one-man show
Portraits Chicago, Lake Forest, IL, 1997-2002
Deerpath Gallery, Lake Forest, IL, 2001-2002
The Art Garden, Lake Forest, IL, 2001
O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, IL, 2000-01, “Made In Chicago Show”
JJ Brookings Gallery, San Francisco, CA, two-man show, 1998
Gallery West, Palo Alto, CA, 1998-2000
Carl Jung Institute, Evanston, IL, 1999
Peter Bartlow Gallery, Chicago, IL, 1997-1998
Goralnick and Buchanan, NY, NY, 1996-97
Talisman Gallery, Bartlesville, OK,1994- 1998
Public Collections
The Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR
Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Chicago, IL
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, IL
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL
Prentice Women’s Hospital, Chicago, IL
Silver Cross Hospital, New Lenox, IL
University of Arkansas Medical School, Little Rock, AR
Miscellaneous
Artist-in-Residence, National Park Service, Indiana Dunes, 2013
Plus dozens of private commissions for portraits, landscapes, cityscapes, and still-life works over the years.