Creating the map of my life through painting and design
I was born and raised in SouthwesternVirginia. I moved to Montana in 1994, and studied fine art at the University of Montana in Missoula for two years. I completed my formal art education at the San Francisco Art Institute, earning a BFA in 1999. City life was exciting, but my affection towards Montana was too strong, and I returned to the Big Sky state in 2000. Today, I work out of my home Missoula, MT studio.
While most recognize my work through representing birds and expansive western landscapes, I have created a new body of abstract, linear color compositions. These paintings are suggestive of fluid natural scenes using bold colors against high contrast backgrounds.
In creating this body of work, I found myself thinking about how the natural world connects us through the use of vibrant and movable color and line. I am interested in the shapes you find on land, the geology of rock, and the colors you find in flowers and plants. Sometimes I incorporate realism by adding birds and small creatures. I like to listen to my head and my heart, meditating though naturally occurring scenes. The process is organic and exciting, a journey that I continue to explore.
