My Story-
I remember that moment when I first re-discovered watercolors as an adult. I was in my early 30's, taking a class at a local junior college. The paper was very wet, and I was dropping color in with my brush. Just playing. I watched, chuckling under my breath, as the pigment bloomed across the paper, dancing to the invisible laws of water and gravity, over and over again, each and every time. Damn... That was sexy. There was no learning to like it. It was an easy joy to find, right from the get go!
Paying attention and being whole-heartedly engaged in what you are doing is a simple, undervalued pleasure, and painting is a tool which encourages me to do so. That’s why I began to paint and it’s why I continue to do so. I like the joy and focus I find while painting. I like playing with water, and seeing what it does. I like experimenting. I like the challenge of control, and the freedom that comes from letting go and teaming up with an elemental process. Little discoveries happen along the way, and you must decide how you’ll respond. It’s a relationship and a dance.
Each painting is the record of a certain point in time. Things are literally moving and drying. Water and sediment are reacting to gravity. The artist is making marks and corralling the elements. What makes that story interesting, what makes art interesting, isn’t perfection, but that humans are making it- that we are paying attention and making marks.
Bio-
I paint in a loose, expressive manner that approaches realism while simultaneously playing with water, gravity, and pigment. Currently based out of Vallejo, CA, I was born and raised in Northern California, and have a deep love for the rolling woodlands, tawny slopes, and stark, bold shorelines this area has to offer. I am a member of the Benicia Plein Air Gallery and The Gardener gallery, where you can see my work in person. I teach studio and plein air workshops.
Publications-
Upcoming- “The Mechanics of Water”, International Artist, August/September 2021
“The Value of a Notan”, International Artist, June/July 2021
“Thinking Negatively”, International Artist, April/May 2021
“Getting It Wrong Can Help You Get It Right”, American Watercolor Weekly, January 2018
“The Best Paintings Aren’t Labored”, Art of Watercolor, No. 24, September- November 2016
Juried Shows and Awards-
I have participated in a number of juried shows and plein air festivals, and been given a number of awards, including the following-
Sonoma Plein Air Festival, 2021
Mendocino Plein Air Festival, 2021, “Best Watercolor” awarded
50th Annual California Watercolor Associations National Exhibition- Jan 2019
Awarded CWA Signature Member Status
Mendocino Plein Air Paint Out, September 2019
Frank Bette Plein Air Festival- August 2019
Wilding Museum, “Celebrating National Lands of California”- July 2019
Frank Bette Plein Air Festival- August 2018, Artist’s Choice Award, People’s Choice Award
Yosemite Renaissance 33- Feb 2018
48th Annual California Watercolor Association’s National Exhibition- Jan 2018
Yosemite Renaissance 32- Feb 2017
47th Annual California Watercolor Association’s National Exhibition- Jan 2017
Frank Bette Plein Air Festival- August 2016
Wilding Museum’s “Celebrating the National Parks”- June 2016, 3rd place
Carmel Art Festival- May 2016, Honorable Mention
Epperson Gallery’s “All Along the Sierras”– Jan 2016