I have always been attracted to the mysterious, macabre, and noir. I also have a love for nostalgia and the warm longing that it brings. Throw in a dash of horror and I have the perfect recipe for the images I like to make.
After graduating from Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena California, I pursued a career in illustration, but before too long, I felt a desire to follow my own path. Luckily, as these feelings arose, I was given the opportunity to teach art at a private academy, which I continue to do to this day. I found myself in a position to create art in any direction I might choose.
With my love of noir, my initial pursuit was to create urban landscapes of various areas in Los Angeles, where I reside. I found myself especially drawn to the single room occupancy hotels and the Beaux Arts architecture in the downtown historic core.
But something else had been brewing.
Several years ago I began to imagine a small coastal city with an underlying darkness, hidden from the average citizen or tourist. A place where hybrid human/animals could live. A place where you might see occasional spacemen or robots roaming the streets. A place with a trailer park on the outskirts of town, partially inhabited by extra-terrestrials. A place where some of the citizens have permanently turned into “forever clowns”.
A city I have come to know as “Orbit.”
My paintings are depictions of events that have happened in Orbit. I begin my paintings with a vague idea of what each piece will be, however as I move through the process of creating them it seems they have a mind of their own, and the narrative often expands.
My work is created using oil on panel, often using the Grisaille technique, starting with a grey scale under painting then developing the color using glazes.
There are many artists who have influenced me, ranging from George Tooker to Edward Hopper, and Maxfield Parish, as well as contemporary artists such as pop surrealist Mark Ryden and Dark artists Chet Zar, and Chris Mars. I also love the work of David Lynch, both his films and fine art.
I hope you will enjoy my work, and would welcome any feedback or comments you wish to share with me.