Artist Bio

Like many people, I drew and painted as a child, and I regularly watched my father paint watercolor landscapes of Illinois farm and railroad scenes.

I took art classes in high school and later in college. My last year in college I took a watercolor painting course and became very frustrated with what I could achieve.  At the end of the class, I threw away my paints and brushes and told myself I did not have real talent for art.

For 35 years I continued to watch my father paint, and I visited art galleries and talked to artists every chance I got. At age 59, while visiting my father in Arizona, I asked Dad to “give me an art lesson,” which he did. I painted with him all week, and I went home totally infected with a reawakened passion to create art.

This began a new phase of life for me, which became an all-consuming obsession. I purchased and studied dozens of art books and instructional videos, visited art museums on a regular basis, and completed a drawing class as part of an MFA program at the Academy of Art University. From then on, I have taken drawing and painting workshops with professional artists at every opportunity.

Why I Paint American Cowboys and Native American Scenes

The short answer is that I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s when television was full of cowboy shows, and I fell in love with this genre as a kid.  The love affair has persisted my whole life. I love the cowboy mythology as well as its reality.  I love the colorful and iconic clothing, the horses, the outdoor life and the spirit of independence and freedom. I feel pride in my American heritage, and I imagine myself connected to multiple generations of my American ancestors who were farmers, cowboys, soldiers, ranchers and pioneers.

My dad, a watercolor painter, had numerous drawing and painting books in his library, but the only actual “art book” in the house was a book of Western art that featured the narrative paintings of Fredrick Remington and Charlie Russell along with western landscapes by Thomas Moran and Albert Bierstadt. Dad and I both love Western Art and have spent many hours together browsing Western art museums in Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas. These were the images that filled my head and my heart as a youth. My whole life I have been in love with the mythical American cowboy and noble American native, their cultures and histories and lifestyles and music and dress. Although I never achieved much prowess as a cowboy with my time spent in the saddle or by training a few cow ponies I have owned, I have a great love of everything related to horses and western life and cowboying.  Western American (i.e., “cowboy”) painting makes up some of the world’s greatest art; honestly, it touches me on a deep level that I can’t explain beyond saying that this is the “art of my heart.”

Why I Paint Bible Scenes

I am a life-long, devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the “Mormon” or “LDS” church).  Each week, I would attend Sunday School as a kid and my teacher would present a lesson from the Bible or Book of Mormon accompanied by a poster-sized picture of the scene painted by Carl Bloch or Arnold Friberg or Del Parson or Harry Anderson.  Today, LDS churches and temples are filled with similar narrative art that depicts scenes from the Old and New Testaments, Book of Mormon and 1800’s Church history.  The subjects of these paintings resonate with me on a spiritual level. They are also masterful compositions and executions of figurative painting in styles and motifs that go back hundreds of years. These paintings also move me on a visual and emotional level. The designs, the brushwork, the colors, the draftsmanship, the human connection, all pull me in and make me want to make my own artistic contribution to this artistic ocean, however small and insignificant my tiny drip of effort might be.  These kinds of paintings are among the hardest to conceive, design and execute, but completing one is exhilarating.

Why I Paint Landscapes

I confess that painting people is my first love.  There is something about the emotional quotient of capturing a person, as a portrait or figure, that is very addictive for me.  But understanding and painting “place” in the context of the people who inhabit a space also intrigues me.  Places carry an emotional charge; perhaps this comes from the people who occupy the space, currently or in the past, or perhaps the emotion comes from us viewers and the personal memories and emotions we assign to the place.  We can all admire a pretty picture.  But creating a compelling landscape has to be more than just painting a pretty picture of a mountain or a river.  Like a narrative cowboy or bible painting, a landscape painting must tell a story.  It must convey its history, demonstrate some drama, have some reason for being, and make some connection to people.  Successful landscape paintings are more complicated than many viewers many realize, and they are often the most challenging work that I undertake.

Why I Painted the 2016 Cubs Baseball Portraits

I am a life-long Cubs fan, and I saw my first game at Wrigley in 1963 when I was thirteen.  My dad had taken me, accompanied by several other dads and boys from our church.  After the game, we met on field with Ken Hubbs, the Cubs second baseman who was Rookie of Year in 1962.  Hubbs, who was also a Mormon, admonished us boys not to drink or smoke and probably said other things that I don’t recall now. Sadly, Hubbs perished in a private plane crash after the 1963 season.  The pall bearers at his funeral included Cubs greats Ron Santo, Billy Williams and Earnie Banks.

During the 2016 baseball season, I started painting watercolor portraits of several members of the team.  The Cubs had not won the World Series since 1908 but hopes for a World Series winner ran high among the Cub faithful in 2016. I determined to paint a portrait of every player on the roster, plus Joe Maddon.  I did not finish the project by the end of the season when the Cubs actually did win their first World Series title in 108 years, but I persevered and finally completed 34 watercolor portraits. This collection includes every player on the WS roster plus the coach, Joe Maddon, and a few other players that had been instrumental in getting the Cubs to the World Series that year.  I also painted small portraits of front-office notables, Theo, Epstein Jed Hoyer, and Tom Ricketts.

So, why did I do this? Cubs fans are a bit crazy. I am part of that tribe.

My Support

I am indebted to my family, who have provided welcomed encouragement. My wife, Becky, who has been an equal partner in this endeavor, has contributed much to the artistic merit of my work through her brilliant photography and her incomparable eye for composition.