About the Artist
California artist
I live and work in Valencia, California, surrounded by the Southern
California hills that so inspire me.
I grew up in California but moved away after college and spent
nearly two decades in "exile".
Now that I'm back I appreciate California's natural environment
much more, seeing it with fresh eyes.
Art or Science?
At age 5 I knew I wanted to be an artist, but my path was rather circuitous.
During my school years I discovered a keen aptitude for math and science. Not knowing anything about making a living as an artist, I elected to pursue a "safe" career in science. I attended Harvey Mudd College, majoring in math and physics, and went on to earn a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Chicago.
I was good at science, but I yearned to return to my first love, art. When the opportunity presented itself, I eagerly left science to pursue art full time. I haven't regretted this decision for a minute.
Getting Back to Art
It took me a while to find my artistic direction, but the exploratory period was exciting. I experimented with several different media, but painting came most naturally to me. As I worked at it, I found ideas seemed to pour out almost effortlessly. Surprised but gratified, I've pursued painting ever since.
I am mostly "self-taught" but have benefited from some basic formal training. Throughout my high school and college years I took many art classes, including a fantastic life-drawing course at the Art Center College of Design (Pasadena, California). More recently I attended classes at the DeCordova Museum School (Lincoln, Massachusetts), which greatly helped hone my skills.
Neo-Pointillism
After a period of experimentation I developed my own distinctive style, which I call "neo-Pointillism" for lack of a better description. I deliberately chose this style because it's so different from other artists.
I'm often asked how I got started painting in this style. The simple answer is that it just happened while I was experimenting. When it did, I recognized it as something worth pursuing.
Back in high school art class, a Pointillism art project was my favorite art project, so I suspect this also influenced my direction.
Exhibiting
I began painting and exhibiting in New England, where I lived at the time. I used my distinctive "neo-Pointillist" style to render the subtle, too-easily overlooked beauty of the natural landscape in vibrant colors.
In 2004 I had my first "solo" exhibit, in my local public library. People immediately responded to my work. I sold out, and had to paint frantically to replace the pieces that sold.
As I continued to paint and exhibit, my work was featured in the local newspaper, and I was interviewed twice on a cable access program about local artists. While organizing a group show for my local nonprofit art organization, I met an art gallery owner and ended up selling several pieces through his gallery, the fscottgallery in Sudbury, Massachusetts. All my remaining New England landscapes may be seen there.
Coming Home
In 2006 I moved back to Southern California, coming home at last. Here I am inspired by the brilliant light, the gnarled old trees, and the craggy hills. My California landscape paintings reflect my enjoyment of these elements, and open a new chapter in my artistic development.
To learn more about my evolution as an artist, please visit my blog.