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I
was born in the summer of '79, and six weeks later
experienced my first intercontinental plane ride.
I've been hooked on travel ever since. I learned
to walk in Saudi Arabia, stayed with a tribal village
family in India, visited a civil war refugee camp
in Sri Lanka, had my palm read in Nepal, trekked
through gorgeous green fields in England, and got
lost in the Louvre. What I love about travelling
is that it forces you to find a sense of rootedness
within yourself - the perfect lesson in non-attachment.
In many ways, the physical voyage runs parallel
to the inner journey, each realm of adventure enhancing
the other. Placing yourself out of context often
helps you see yourself more clearly, and I try to
maintain that perceptiveness in my daily life.
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Early Years
I
grew up mostly in Florida, a fairly normal child, although
probably considered quite shy and inward-looking, preferring
daydreams and doodles over daring and drama. I knew
from an early age that I was an artist, and quite clearly
recall being thoroughly unsatisfied at the age of 6
with the quality of the supermarket art materials I
was given to work with. (Tempera paints that were runny
and blended into dull, muddy tones; slick posterboard
which would not properly soak the pigment; and clunky
brushes whose hairs would fray too easily and offered
no practical control over detail.) I liked drawing horses,
but always forgot the mane.
After
a colorful academic elementary career including a First
Grade Spelling Bee Champion trophy, I went through middle
and high school in the normal way, sprinkled with bouts
of artmaking here and there amidst a mainly scholastic
curriculum. This began to change when at the age of
15, I undertook lessons at the Atelier
of Plein-Air Studies in Safety Harbor, FL, where I learned
the classical techniques of rendering still lifes in
charcoal and oil paints (such as the Satyr
painting in the scrollbar below).
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A
selection of artwork created during high school:
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And
then
I graduated high school in 1997 with numerous awards
to my name, both academic and art-related, such as being
named a National Merit Scholar and an Outstanding Painting
Student. I've always loved to exercise the contents
of my cranium, so I started college unsure of whether
to pursue my creative side through Creative Writing
or Art, or to pursue my intellectual and spiritual yearnings
through Philosophy or Religion. After taking a number
of classes in each subject at the wonderful
Warren Wilson College, I realized that the
pursuit of a livelihood in art would be the only career
path that would allow me to simultaneously explore all
four of those interests at once! I realized that art
would allow for a creative outlet to all the intellectual
and spiritual searches that I would conduct throughout
my life.
My
time at Warren Wilson was important in many ways. It
was (and still is, I imagine) a rather tiny college
nestled in the mountains outside of Asheville, NC, which
focused on service and work in addition to learning.
The small, community-minded atmosphere provided a supportive
environment for personal growth and plentiful opportunities
for meaningful connections with other like-minded individuals.
My experiences there were invaluable in shaping and
nurturing my burgeoning sense of wanting to live a positive
life imbued with appreciation and compassion for all
living beings - solidifying my aim to work for the overall
constructive good of the world, using whatever skills
I can contribute.
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As
much as I loved the fun, open-minded environment of
Warren Wilson and its beautiful natural surroundings,
its Art Department was still in its infancy at that
time, so I left for a school with a more established
program. I spent four years at the University of South
Florida on a full scholarship. Most of the artwork I
created there falls under my Composite Realism
category and reflects a time in my life when my artistic
output correlated with my search for a sense of identity
through my cross-cultural connections.
I
graduated magna cum laude in the spring of 2004, after
taking the meandering 7-year route through college.
I have since been happily meandering in other contemplative
ways - travelling the world and creating more artworks,
now employing a variety of styles and themes to express
the many nuances of existence that my boundless curiosity
compels me to explore. I'm inspired by nooks and crannies,
unseen paths, ever-present mysteries and endless beginnings.
With subject matter ranging from politics to the subconscious,
and through themes personal and universal, I create
works that draw directly from tangible images of the
world around me (photorealism) to works that spring
from an inner spiritual search (abstracts). Always a
lifelong student, now the world is my classroom and
I seek inspiration from all I find around me.
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And
now
After
graduating from university I spent 3 years intimately
involved in the creation of an ecological Buddhist
co-housing community in southern France, which provided
me the opportunity to meet lots of interesting people
from all over the world and spend ample time enjoying
nature. Those experiences had a profound influence
on my art and consciousness. With each new piece of
art that I create, my skills are continually challenged
and expanded and my concepts become richer and more
fully defined. Like life, my creative endeavors are
an endless learning process that is often surprising
and always enriching.
Since
2002, I have sold hundreds of artworks to collectors
all over the globe. My images can be found on t-shirts,
greeting cards, mugs, jewelry, and countless other
items. It brings me great joy and fulfillment to know
that my artwork is being enjoyed and appreciated all
over the world! My goal as a person is to live a genuine
life, imbued with meaning, with openness and awareness
for all that is around and inside of me. My aim as
an artist is to give a visual voice to this quest,
to honor the path that we are all on by shedding light
and adding color along the way.
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My
most recent art project is the creation and development of
an art educational site, called Art
is fun! On this site I share everything I know
about art and art-making... from how
to paint abstract art to how
to sharpen your colored pencils. The site also includes
information about various art styles and subject matter, along
with insightful interviews with featured artists.
If
you like my art and want to learn how to paint or draw, then
Art
is fun is for you!
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