
I've had a life-long interest in art. As the son of an art teacher, I spent many
boyhood hours trekking through art museums and watching my father paint
plein air. After I retired in 2012 from serving as a pastor and Internet
marketing, I began to learn to paint in watercolor, studying under
watercolorists Sonja Hamilton and Pat Abraham.
I find myself studying light falling on people, objects, and scenes with an
interest to work out a pleasing composition. I am a representative painter, but
I know that a good composition is actually made up of several abstract shapes
that make it interesting. So I try understand the abstract of a composition,
while creating an image that clearly recognizable, even if much of it only
suggested -- a fine balance to strive for.
I love bold color, as well as rendering light and shadows with interest. I paint
because I enjoy tackling the challenges that must be resolved in order to
produce a pleasing work. How can I compose a painting in a unique way? How can I
make it memorable? How can I simplify? How can I capture the mood? How can I
allow the colors to mingle in such a way that they bring a unique beauty to the
final work? Ultimately, I paint because it brings me joy, perhaps a bit of the
joy our Creator must have felt when he rendered such a beautiful world.
For a number of years I have been active in WASH, a regional watercolor
association allied with the Sacramento Fine Arts Center. I have been Program
Chairman for several years and currently serve as president.
rev 30 Jan 2019
|