Carefully selected subjects, design, and technique are evidence of my desire to create a captivating piece of fine art. As a boy, I was drawn to the work of Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, and N.C. Wyeth. Knowing these renowned painters began in illustration encouraged me to pursue a career in painting. Therefore, in 2007, after spending twenty-eight years as a illustrator, I embarked on a career as a painter. As an artist, my focus is to capture special moments that occur in the waters along the Atlantic coastline.
Initially, I took a traditional approach to all of the paintings I created. As I continued to work with oils, memories of "Freshman Foundation" at Rhode Island School of Design, nearly three decades earlier, resurfaced. During that year I completed an assignment that required the use of squares from a gridded image. Consequently, while working on an 18 X 24 painting, I expanded on the gridded approach by isolating complex foreground areas of the composition. I was intrigued by the process and by the painting, which I titled Duxbury Fog. Therefore, in 2008 I completed my first large scale work by creating individual square paintings to form a unified image in which the squares are subtly celebrated. The 60x60 inch painting Tidal Remains is the first work I produced in what I refer to as my "squares" series.
Currently, I find myself drawn to both methods of painting - traditional and the "squares" approach. While I consider my traditional style to be a simplified expression of my work as an artist, I view my "squares" series as a contemporary abstraction of my traditional paintings. As I approach each new canvas, I find myself in the same place that every painter throughout history has been. The blank, two-dimensional surface before me contains the promise of a new learning experience, and an opportunity to complete a piece of art to which viewers will be drawn.