I was born and raised on the central shore of New Jersey, and have been drawing and creating art since I was a young child. I credits much of my early development to my mother for often enrolling me in local art lessons. In high school I majored in art and was chosen to participate in the Ocean County Teen Fine Art show in my senior year. Once in college my education turned toward commercial art and I began airbrushing in the summers. What started out as a summer job on the beach turned into a nearly 35+year career.
In the summer of 2004, after moving to the city of Phoenix Arizona, I set my sights on fine arts and began my journey into the wonderful world of oil painting. The “hairy brush” took some getting used to but I quickly got the hang of it. It took about a minute and a half to absolutely fall in love with the medium. Each painting I do continues to be part of a lifelong art education as there is always something new to be learned or explored in painting.
In an effort to improve my skills and learn from others I sought out other local artist in the many places I have lived over the years. The lessons learned and friendships created in this endeavor have been invaluable to my experience as an artist.
I have also worked in mediums such as watercolors, acrylics, oils paint and soft pastels, though it is the latter two that I spend the most time with. My style has been referred to as “painterly realism” which is exactly what I am trying to accomplish in my landscape/seascape work and with my pet portraits.. Each new painting brings me closer to refining that style and improving on my skills.
I have found myself living and painting in the great beauty of the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee for the last 12+ years and it is where I now call home. I do still love to paint the sea, beaches and coastal art as it is my roots and where i spent the majority of my life (on one coast or another). I still airbrush as my day job and on my days off I paint in my home studio along with my two dogs and two cats that allow me to share the home with them.
