I’m a curious guy. For me, life is an ongoing adventure. I like trying new things and visiting interesting places. Destinations can be near or far, real or imagined, either in person or in a dream. My general pursuit is to be taken somewhere I've never been and see things I've never seen.

I also enjoy a good story. I like listening to people relate experiences— whether authentic or outright lies. I love laughter and wacky conversation. Music is important as is a good read, movie, and photograph. Admittedly, at this stage of my life, I just want to be entertained. 

I worked as an illustrator for over 30 years and enjoy narrative art of all types so among my collections are illustrated books, comics, and old magazines. The artists whose work I enjoy most tend to be storytellers. It doesn’t matter whether the work hangs on a museum wall or printed page.

Telling a story is important in my work. I think of my paintings as little Caprices (after Goya). Combining fantasy with realism I employ whimsy, eroticism, and a dash of mythology to create little morality plays or the kind of folktales passed down by unrepentant oddballs. I compose cinematically, but in the paintings, there is no beginning, middle, or end— only a frozen frame. This is true whether the pieces are looked at individually or in a bunch. The images invite the viewer to ponder, “WTF?” I leave it to the viewer to imagine what led to the scene and what follows.

Because my stories revolve around characters my work usually begins with the figure. These are often well-intentioned individuals having to respond to various headaches— some rather trivial. Since so much of my work is autobiographical, my characters are not very bright (I am myself an 11th-degree jackass). Many of these folk are on some sort of quest. More often than not they are simply lost. As they search, they often find themselves in uncomfortable situations especially when confronted by dimwits. In life, unlike in TV commercials, there is no such thing as, “zip-zip”— everything is a project, and no good deed goes unpunished. 

In recent years, my work is focused on confronting some of the challenges connected with getting older. The mental, physical, and emotional underpinnings that were once taken for granted wear away leaving a new awareness— often sad. Looking back over a long life can reveal glimpses of abandonment, loneliness, and broken promises. Many of the things we were once a part of or seemed so important tend to dissolve into insignificance. In spite of this, we think we can still contribute, forge new involvements, and continue to strive for relevance, belonging, and a damn good time. The story ain’t over— do not go quietly!

Technique

My technique hasn't changed much over the years. I have an MFA in Printmaking but I’ve always enjoyed painting and drawing. As an illustrator and watercolor instructor, my work was executed primarily using watercolor and gouache. Even as I began to pursue imagery of a more personal nature this continued to be my medium. But as the work evolved, I discovered that thinned acrylics provided some technical advantages to the effects I was getting in watercolor.

I’ve never considered myself a painter— I don’t see what I do as “painterly.” I’ve always been a renderer and because my work relies so much on the preliminary drawing I think of my images more as colored drawings.

My approach to painting has always been based on glazing. In this way, the image is built up gradually using transparent layers of paint. I find this method particularly useful for creating textures and light effects.

All of my paintings start off fast and loose. Working like this allows me to lay down a foundation of textural spontaneity. This creates details and visual effects that can be emphasized as the painting develops. Acrylics allow me to paint like this and not worry about earlier layers shifting when rewetted. I also enjoy the level of color saturation I get with acrylics as well as the range of darks I’m able to play with. These days, all of my work is done in this medium. I have painted on gessoed MDF but prefer to work on acid-free paper substrates.

Much of the pleasure I derive from painting comes from creating textures and details culled from the natural world. I collect all sorts of stuff, anything that can inform my work. This includes weird-ball rocks, fossils, bones, and shells. But I’m also looking at rusty old mechanical bits, toys, dolls, ethnic stuff, street shit, and gewgaws. On my many walks, I stop to study gnarly tree roots, wrecked and dilapidated structures, curiously disturbing old people, and the odd unimproved hole in the ground. If something catches my eye I either photograph it or haul it back to my studio. So in my work, the gentle viewer will be entertained by geological forms, roots, shells, crustaceans, anatomical bits, cast-off organelles— all kinds of filth.

Career

As an artist [my career has been long and varied], my work has appeared in many national and international exhibitions where I have won numerous awards.

As a freelance illustrator, I worked [for over 30 years] on all sorts of projects completing nearly 2500 illustrations. Most of this work appeared in the publishing field for a wide variety of clients including newspapers, magazines, and books.

A retired college art instructor, I taught Watercolor painting and various Illustration classes for many years at the American Academy of Art, Chicago. Drawing at the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Il. And Illustration at the International School of Comics, Chicago.

I was a member of the Air Force Art Program, and have work in the permanent collection of the Pentagon.

I earned an M.F.A. in Printmaking from Northern Illinois University, a B.A. in Art (Printmaking) from Northeastern Illinois University, and studied Printmaking at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

I myself am a work in progress. My quest to acquire new sensations and experiences goes on, and although a lot of pages have been turned, hopefully, I'm nowhere near the end of the story.