Artist Statement
I had a non-traditional childhood in Iowa that included pet ducks and goats, and planting trees. My mother was a wildlife artist and my father was a horticulturalist, so the love of land and nature was taught at an early age. We had an apple orchard and tree nursery, plus my families art business “Wildlife Country.” We traveled all over the midwest selling my mother’s original paintings.
In 1998 I graduated with a BA in painting and graphic design from the University of Northern Iowa. At that time, i was interested mainly in oils and abstraction.
Following college, I lived in Chicago for eight years and worked as a graphic designer. Among my memorable experiences there was when I was asked to make scientific illustrations based on examples in a cadaver lab!
In 2008 I moved to New Mexico. My paintings flourished during the time I lived in Santa Fe and then Albuquerque, and I was introduced to encaustic painting in 2012. Ampersand Art Supply in Austin, Texas, asked me to assist an artist during an encaustic demo in Santa Fe, and after that I was hooked on this medium, the oldest form of painting.
To sum up encaustic painting: it is pigment melted in wax. At a high temperature, it is melted and then can be painted with a brush. My art is influenced by contemplation and minimalism, and combines encaustic with transferred original landscape and plant drawings.
In July 2014 I relocated to Lakewood, CO and currently work in Golden as a graphic designer.
I had a non-traditional childhood in Iowa that included pet ducks and goats, and planting trees. My mother was a wildlife artist and my father was a horticulturalist, so the love of land and nature was taught at an early age. We had an apple orchard and tree nursery, plus my families art business “Wildlife Country.” We traveled all over the midwest selling my mother’s original paintings.
In 1998 I graduated with a BA in painting and graphic design from the University of Northern Iowa. At that time, i was interested mainly in oils and abstraction.
Following college, I lived in Chicago for eight years and worked as a graphic designer. Among my memorable experiences there was when I was asked to make scientific illustrations based on examples in a cadaver lab!
In 2008 I moved to New Mexico. My paintings flourished during the time I lived in Santa Fe and then Albuquerque, and I was introduced to encaustic painting in 2012. Ampersand Art Supply in Austin, Texas, asked me to assist an artist during an encaustic demo in Santa Fe, and after that I was hooked on this medium, the oldest form of painting.
To sum up encaustic painting: it is pigment melted in wax. At a high temperature, it is melted and then can be painted with a brush. My art is influenced by contemplation and minimalism, and combines encaustic with transferred original landscape and plant drawings.
In July 2014 I relocated to Lakewood, CO and currently work in Golden as a graphic designer.