ABOUT THE ARTIST
The imagery that I’ve always been drawn to is the natural landscape that surrounds me. Growing up in Minnesota I spent a lot of time at our family cabin near the Canadian border, and then I moved to the mountains of Colorado. Nature has always been an inspiration and a sanctuary for me. To this day I still try to spend most of my time at the lake or in the mountains.
My pastels have a simplified, cartoonish look, and modern folk-art feel. No doubt an insult to both, my work has been described as Dr. Seuss meets Van Gogh… two of my favorites.
I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and received my BFA from the University of Minnesota in 1990. My father is a retired art teacher and an abstract expressionist oil painter and although our artwork is very different, he has had a huge influence on my work. I’ve worked with a wide variety of mediums including graphite, colored pencil, mixed media, pastel, painting, photography, ceramics, glass, woodcarving, and most recently, papercutting. I’ve always believed in showing “truth to the medium” in my work and love artwork that doesn’t shy away from itself. Undoubtedly, my father’s influence.
In college I started doing archival picture framing and, after graduating, moved to Breckenridge, Colorado, where I eventually created and ran Ski Hill Picture Framing, a small gallery and picture framing business. Prior to opening my shop, my work was displayed for years in the Hibberd McGrath Gallery, my eventual next-door neighbors and good friends.
Artist CV
1990- Received BFA University of Minnesota
1995- 2003 Hibberd McGrath Gallery, Breckenridge, CO
1997- 1999 Art and Soul Gallery, Boulder CO
2003-2010 Ski Hill Picture Framing and Gallery
1996,1998,2000,2002 solo Shows Hibberd McGrath Gallery
2003-2010 Yearly solo Shows
2009 Bach Beethoven and Breckenridge music festival poster winner
My work has been purchased by individuals in the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, and many European countries.
Why do i create artwork?
First of all, I can’t dance.
I create artwork because I love getting lost and consumed in the process. Developing photos in the dark room, working in the woodshop, sitting down at the drawing table, or going in to throw pots only to look up and realize eight hours has passed is my happy place. To get lost in the moment and in the end realize that you’ve created something that really resonates with others is why I create. When a client sees one of my pieces and there is something in it that creates a peaceful moment to think and reflect or reminds them of a special place or time in their past, my work takes on meaning.
For myself, my best days in the studio are the days when everything is just flowing. You’re working fast, easy and loose, and are again, lost in the moment. That’s when I create most of my favorite work and am able to convey a sense that it wasn’t labored over or contrived.
This same feeling of being lost in the moment is a common theme in other parts of my life as well – whether it’s spending time on the lake at my cabin, riding my road bike, or downhill skiing in the mountains. When I’m up to my waist in snow racing down a mountain, lost in peaceful serenity, or am completely absorbed in my studio immersed with an artistic idea that I’m exploring, there is no tomorrow and no yesterday, only now.