The love I have of wild things and my need to explore and drink in beauty is inseparable from my art. Wilderness feeds my soul. The spiritual connection I feel feeds my passion. Painting allows me to embrace my most precious memories and feelings. I have always had a strong desire to connect with people. Sharing adventures and sharing my art are my two favorite ways.

A husband and father of four, I was born and raised in the North West of Oregon. As a child I had a need for adventure and danger. I learned to love adventure from my father and art from my mother. My serious art studies began in 1991 at Trinity Western University in B.C., Canada and later I studied at Marylhurst University in Oregon.

In my studies I was influenced by the work of Bellows, Rodin, Monet, Kollwitz and others. I saw Jackson Pollock as a great divergent force and Vincent Van Gogh as the greatest impressionist that ever lived. Pollock gave me a license for freedom and Van Gogh gave me a vision of passion. I believed if I combined my understanding of freedom and passion with a divergent technique, I could find some undiscovered territory. During my five years studying art I learned all of the rules. I learned them so I could break them. I create art that is divergent. My goal is to be original without sacrificing beauty. I don’t let the traditional rules of art determine what I can and cannot create.