I am predominately a studio painter. I feel most comfortable there. Being a perceptual painter and a collector of objects it is only natural that my main subject as a painter should be still life.
My love of objects goes back to my childhood when the simplest of things would keep me looking and wondering for hours. There could be any number of reasons for the attraction, some of which would be size, shape, color, surface and texture, and if the form had moving parts all the better. The interest in the object has only gotten more intense with time. Now I find myself spending hours arranging these objects in some way in order to satisfy a need for harmony, design and solidarity. The fact that many of the things I use have a history that I do not know is not lost on me. Almost all come from a different place and time. This only increases the attraction. The construction of the still life has a certain ritualistic quality to it. This lends itself well to the reverential aspect that builds as the painting develops. One of my goals is to translate this to the viewer along with all of the formal needs in painting.
My other desires are to ensure an understanding of my place in a tradition that was born in the Renaissance, which includes a holistic reverence for nature and the mystery of life. I want to speak to my time as a modern artist steeped in the tradition of painting. I have a desire to create the world as it might be and to understand the underlying need for doing so and to be sympathetic to the desire to express this need with paint in the twenty first century.

This is an exploration in color and shape. My first response was to the color and then to the variety of shapes and sizes.

Earlier still life paintings. Most are oil on canvas

 Artist Statement
My love of objects goes back to childhood when the simplest of things would keep me looking and wondering for hours. There could be any number of reasons for the attraction, some of which would be size, shape, color, surface or texture, and if the object had moving parts, all the better. My interest in objects has become more intense with time and I find myself spending hours arranging them in some way in order to satisfy a need for harmony, design and solidarity. I am aware of the fact that many have a history unknown to me, and almost all come from different times and places. This only increases their attractiveness. Construction of the still life has a certain ritualistic quality to it, which lends itself well to the reverential aspect that builds as a painting develops. My goal is to communicate this to the viewer.
         My other goal is to ensure an understanding of my place in a tradition that was born in the Renaissance, which includes a holistic reverence for nature and the mystery of life. I want to speak to my time as a modern artist steeped in the tradition of painting. I have a desire to create the world as it might be, to understand the underlying need for doing so and to be sympathetic to the desire to express this need with paint in the twenty-first century.
I would like my art to be as powerful as a great work of architecture or musical composition. Great works of art are something like icons for me; they possess a soul. I would like my work to be the same.