Studio 53 Gallery - Located in Isleton, California

Since childhood I have sought the artist's way of life. I graduated in liberal arts from San Francisco State University and became a writer, director, stage set and costume designer, and producer for children's theatres in northern California. When I lost most of my hearing for unknown reasons, my focus shifted to the fine art of painting and I have never looked back. A new journey awaits me every day.

Along the way, I have studied art at various colleges and workshops. My roots are in classical and impressionist painting. However, in recent years my work has focused on synthesizing the impressionist-expressionist genre's with elements of abstraction. I love to play with color, and directional lines and movement. I seek to abstract and distill certain elements and shapes. I want the viewer to see and feel my awe or excitement or melancholy and "be there". Therefore, I see every reason to revel in the beautiful, the "ugly", and the illusive.

I paint both figurative and landscape, with figurative being my primary emphasis.

Presently there are nineteen plus paintings in a themed collection about circus and night-life performers, sometimes pure fun, other times delving into the subtext of the underbelly of such a life.

At this point in my painting career I am synthesizing my former more romantic, realist-impressionist style with elements of abstraction, expressionism and a bit of surrealism. Sometimes I purposely flatten space to create tension and drama. Brushwork is used to give the illusion of movement, and color is often my counterpoint to emotions and subtext. The subtext is not surreal to me. It is my perception of self in certain realities.

I do love rich, buttery paint and loose washes in and of themselves. But through much trial and error, I see the importance of processing my thoughts and feelings and transferring them without self censorship to the medium of paint. Paint, subject matter, and style are merely conduits. And like a circle they may be subject to further exploration, discovery, and change. That is how I see myself as an artist: permeable, changeable, and resilient because I have something to say. This is how we are all unique.

Much of this work is done from life where the immediacy excites my senses and propels decisions. However, I feel free to exploit the dimensions and emphasize my interests and mood about the subject.

When I work in the studio, I rely on sketches and memory. That way, there is total freedom to choose the colors and forms to explore and change the emphasis. My mediums, oils and acrylics, afford the necessary flexibility. These mediums also allow the use of canvas or various papers to great effect.

Many art movements and artists have influenced my work. I am particularly indebted to Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, Matisse, Elmer Bischoff and the Bay Area Figurative Painters, Fritz Scholder, Thiebaud, and Hung Lui. I love them all and will continue to refer to them. They have given so much.