About the Artist
Statement Biography Résumé
My creativity is stimulated by the beauty/soul found in nature and animals, and our relationship with both. Being in nature is like being inside in a magnificent, living painting, where forms communicate with and through colors, lines, and empty spaces. Within such a painting, realism becomes abstract and abstraction becomes real, which led me to enjoy both styles of expression in watercolor and oil.
When working with oil without prior sketches, I usually have two or three paintings in progress at the same time. In using the technique of glazing, I have to allow layers of paint to dry, which gives me time to work on another painting. A finished painting is quiet, i.e., does not ‘speak’ to me, but as long as it keeps me involved, I know I will get back to it, perhaps even years later.
The only time I was compelled, rather than inspired to paint, was in the mid 90s, when I became aware and involved in animal rights issues. I devoted more and more effort to rescuing and rehabilitating dogs, leading to an intense and ultimately rewarding period of eighteen years. I did not pursue any public shows, instead working on private and corporate commissions, as well as contributing to fundraisers for animals-in-need. The idea that a picture is worth more than a thousand words led to my creation of numerous animal rights paintings.
With a reduction of K-9 family members in my life over the years, I shifted my focus back on my artwork. During the later months of 2000, I began compiling a large body of work, where in a series, one painting follows another; as in years past, these paintings continued to reflect and portray the beauty of nature and animals, which has uplifted and enhanced my life as a person and an artist.
Biography
My earliest memories are of nature and animals. I grew up in a river valley surrounded by green hills, deep forests, and many different animals, which fascinated me the most. These early experiences of the fullness of life wove the magic carpet; which ever since, lets me travel into these realms of connectedness and beauty.
At the age of fourteen, a professor of a local arts school took me under his wing to introduce me to drawing and painting techniques of the old masters. My parents supported me in pursuing a career in art, but encouraged me to take the safe road towards commercial art. I earned a degree in graphic design.
At the age of twenty-one, I worked as a graphic designer and enrolled at the academy of art in Munich, from which I earned a degree in fine arts. This education gave me the foundation to develop my own personal painting style.