Artist Statement
My art has consistently revolved around giving solid form to ideas and emotions. I look to the natural world for images symbolic of thoughts and feelings to further my understanding of myself, communicate with my viewers, and explore how art at once creates and comments on contemporary culture.
I am inspired by the complex forms and spaces I see in landscapes dominated by the touch of Nature. I choose to paint in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (CSNM) and other natural landscapes to encourage awareness of their intrinsic value. We as individuals, and as a society, benefit from being in and close to natural lands both physically and mentally. Most overtly they clean our air and water, more quietly they calm our nerves and teach us about ourselves.
Working outdoors, at times all day in one location, I see the flow of time in the shifts of light, the rhythm of the winds, the flow of air through the movement of fog, and temperatures that rise and fall. I am rejuvenated by the quality of the air, the natural scents that float by, and the grand vistas. When I see the paintings I have done I remember the experiences in greater detail. It goes with the painting wherever it lives.
Biographical information: I am a fourth generation Texan who relocated to Oregon as a young adult. I built a studio on my property in 1980 and worked predominately doing clay bas-relief murals until 1994 when I began to shift my focus to painting.
I show my paintings regularly through out Oregon as well as participating in exhibitions across the U.S. My paintings hang in private and public collections in the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Argentina.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s I did several large scale public art commissions, and received a matching grant from the Oregon Arts Commission for one of them.
In the late 80’s I conceived the idea for a large woodland park, now know as The Jacksonville Woodlands, that would protect the wooded ridge line and hillsides from development which in turn protects our designation as a National Historic Landmark. Jacksonville is a small town in the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon. It was active during the Gold Rush period and the original County Seat for the area. The arrival of the railroad shifted the focus to neighboring Medford and Jacksonville lay quiet for decades until it's historic buildings brought interest and visitors back to the area and a National recognition of it's value as a historic landmark.
When I moved here in the 70's building was growing and change without thought to the importance of our wooded natural surroundings. I approached Mayor Bob Cecil with the idea of developing public park land and received his support. Together we began a collaboration between the BLM and the City of Jacksonville to bring to life the current park with hiking trails over 300 acres known as the Jacksonville Woodlands. Many people helped along the way but I am happy to take credit for initiating the idea and starting the process. I worked directly on the project until 1995. One of our fundraisers each year was a successful art auction.
The natural setting of the Historic buildings contributes to the feeling and preserves the history of the Gold Rush that happened here.
Education: I studied art and science at four Universities and one junior college before moving to Oregon. After 6 years of University study I received a Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in Ceramic Arts from East Texas State University now part of A&M University in Texas. I have continued my studies with audited classes and artists workshops; and a personal commitment to the study of Art History.
I began painting on location with artist Nelson Sandgren in 2000, and continue to join his son, artist and teacher Erik Sandgren, to paint the Oregon coast each summer at the annual free Sandgren Paint Out, with a three day embedded workshop for a fee. I also gather together a small group to paint in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. The CSNM is the only National Monument lands designated for its unique Bio-Diversity qualities.
Gouache & Varnish on panel - 6 x 6 x 0.2 in
Working through the seasons indoors and out keeps me focused on my work there. Above I am painting along the Umpqua River with Oregon painters Bets Cole in the background and Susan Rudisil who took the photograph. We were participating in the Annual Umpqua Valley painting event.
The painting above was one I painted that day along the Umpqua and was recognized by the juror and placed in the main exhibition.