Questions and Answers
Q: What kind of art do you do?
A: “I create contemporary atmospheric abstract paintings using acrylic paint on panels.”
Q: How long have you been working professionally?
A: “I went professional when I changed from representational painting to abstract painting in 2001. After spending a year developing a body of work, I was accepted into Expressions in Fine Art gallery on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico. That is how it started for me.”
Q: How often do you work in your studio?
A: “I work almost everyday. In 2008 I built a large and well designed studio that was designed to function for my art needs. Having a dedicated space has my allowed my art to evolve."
Q: How long does it take to create a painting?
A: “My work is too involved with layering and gels to be able to create a painting in a day. I usually start 5 or 6 panels at once and work them all until they are done, then repeat the process. Having a dedicated space to work has allowed me to be more prolific."
Q: What makes a good painting?
A: “For me good paintings, like good music have different movements. Work that makes you go "Hum... I must get a closer look at this."
Q: Do you ever run out of ideas?
A: “No. I have learned hundreds of techniques in acrylic painting over the years. I consider them tools in my paint box. If you have a lot of tools of your trade you can do many things. This is how I can keep work interesting and still have a recognizable style.”
Q: What inspires you and how do you want your work to inspire others?
A: “I am inspired by nature and quiet reflection. I try to put that feeling in my work. My paintings are open for interpretation because they are abstract. They are open story boards for the viewer to find their own meaning.”
Q: Where do you find your ideas?
A: “Textures, color palettes, land, water and sky. When I feel creatively low I get out and fill my brain up with visual images.”
Q: What is your process?
A: “I try not to have any intentions. I start out with a color palette and hope it sticks with me. When I apply paint the paint shows me something. I respond and add more. The work unfolds with this back and forth process. Sometimes this process is easy and sometimes not so much. When the work paints itself it is a gift but at times it takes the long way around the barn.”
Q: You seem to paint a lot of 5 panel works. Tell me about them.
A: “I call them quintets. I think of them like a group of friends or a family. Each panel is painted to stand on
its own but together they make a stronger statement and a new image. It is about relationships and finding that thread that connects them. I consider them my signature work.”