About the Artist
I grew up near the edge of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on fifteen acres that was an artist studio, a tree nursery, and also a hobby farm. My mother was a wildlife painter, and my father taught horticulture at a near-by community college; As a result, I started to paint as a very young child.
In 1994, I studied painting at the University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls, IA. In 1998 I graduated with a BA degree in Art.
From early 2000 until the end of 2007, I lived in Chicago and worked as a graphic designer. I continued to paint several series and they were exhibited throughout the area in group shows, art galleries and through art coalitions. My paintings evolved through these years into seperate series: murky x-ray-like images of bones, abstracted sails and ancient boats, and then crumpled cloth and patterns in fabric. Each piece became more detailed, less abstract, and continually broadened the original, limited color pallet.
Last summer I returned to the country house where I grew up. While I was there for the last time, I took many photographs of the trees and plants that my father had planted when I was a young child. I gathered weeds from the ditch at the dead end road, and photographed each as individuals. The next day I returned to the same ditch only to find that the neighbor had mowed down the intrusive weeds, so they would not spread into the neighboring fields. What I thought was beautiful, was a nuisance to others. These images became the basis of my current painting series “The Garden.”
In 2008, due to the record mid-west flooding, I relocated to New Mexico and now currently reside in Albuquerque.
I grew up near the edge of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on fifteen acres that was an artist studio, a tree nursery, and also a hobby farm. My mother was a wildlife painter, and my father taught horticulture at a near-by community college; As a result, I started to paint as a very young child.
In 1994, I studied painting at the University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls, IA. In 1998 I graduated with a BA degree in Art.
From early 2000 until the end of 2007, I lived in Chicago and worked as a graphic designer. I continued to paint several series and they were exhibited throughout the area in group shows, art galleries and through art coalitions. My paintings evolved through these years into seperate series: murky x-ray-like images of bones, abstracted sails and ancient boats, and then crumpled cloth and patterns in fabric. Each piece became more detailed, less abstract, and continually broadened the original, limited color pallet.
Last summer I returned to the country house where I grew up. While I was there for the last time, I took many photographs of the trees and plants that my father had planted when I was a young child. I gathered weeds from the ditch at the dead end road, and photographed each as individuals. The next day I returned to the same ditch only to find that the neighbor had mowed down the intrusive weeds, so they would not spread into the neighboring fields. What I thought was beautiful, was a nuisance to others. These images became the basis of my current painting series “The Garden.”
In 2008, due to the record mid-west flooding, I relocated to New Mexico and now currently reside in Albuquerque.