I was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1971, and exhibited an interest in art from a young age. I began working with oils in 1980, producing numerous traditional pieces that reflected my age, in both their raw technique and subject matter. I stopped painting in 1983, at the age of 12, but continued to sketch subjects that appealed to me throughout the following decades
After completing law school and developing a corporate practice, I realized that the legal profession left me little outlet for my creative side. In 2002, after a twenty-year hiatus, I turned back to painting to balance the logic of my day today work. It was then that I began painting for the first time with acrylics, using the medium to produce several abstract and contemporary pieces.
As an artist, I’ve always been influenced by the works of Pissaro, van Gogh, Picasso, Robert Motherwell and Kandinsky. My work may not always reflect that influence, but those are the artists whose works continue to move me. More recently, the works of Alexandra Nechita, Jack Vettriano, Hessam Abrishami, Andrei Petrov and Ramón Lombarte inspire me to express myself on canvas. Despite my admiration for some of these more traditional artists, my works are decidedly abstract in nature.
It was natural for me to make the jump from traditional subjects to abstract and contemporary art. When I first began painting, I was so young, I painted what others told me were proper subjects. During my twenty-year break, I developed my own ideas of art, predominant among which was a deep appreciation for the ‘vagueness’ of art. I find myself drawn to artwork that doesn’t simply say ‘here’s a bowl of pears,’ but which allows me to take my own view of the subject and deduce my own ‘hidden’ meanings. Jackson Pollack’s Lavender Mist (1950) isn’t clearly a painting of anything, but I doubt anyone who has seen it isn’t moved on some level — whatever level of introspection they bring to it. My view of art was also likely influenced by my legal training. One thing about the law is that it makes you look at things from several different angles before making up your mind. You begin to question a subject, rather than just accepting it at face value. Art, to me, requires the same scrutiny to be truly appreciated – even that of the great masters. The first time I saw Caravaggio’s Incredulità di San Tommaso (1599) and Madonna dei Palafrenieri (1605), I thought they were beautiful and was amazed at his talent, but it wasn’t until I thought more about the stories he was telling, through the focus of the light and the placement of the shadows (chiaroscuro), that I truly appreciated his brilliance.
Looking to branch out from the limitations of acrylics, I began incorporating water-miscible oils into my paintings in 2004, producing mixed-media pieces that took advantage of the benefits of both mediums. I was then able to produce pieces that dried quickly, allowing me to build up layers of color, while taking advantage of the brilliance and intensity of oils. Most recently, I’ve experimented with palette knives to create heavy impastos in my work.
I hope you enjoy my collection.
