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 Fred Scott and ended up selling several pieces through his art gallery, the fscottgallery in Sudbury, Massachusetts.
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.