Professionally, I am an architect. I used my artistic skills and creativity while attaining my degree, but while pursuing other interests and other things throughout my life, art has been a constant. I have never, not created art.
I currently live in Illinois in a suburb of Chicago, but I was raised in northern Wisconsin. I only mention where I grew up because the landscape had a profound influence on my sense of beauty. As a kid, I spent a lot of time outdoors playing in the woods, picking wild flowers and riding my bike out in the countryside. My mind still goes back to the fields and woods of Wisconsin when I think about what is beautiful in this world.
I have been asked about how I developed my drawing style and how I arrived at my subject matter. When I write it down using terminology like “develop” and “subject matter”, it starts to sound planned and scientific, a bit stuffy. The truth is, it’s not. I am a self taught artist and my art is the natural result of years of drawing and discovering new methods and materials to express myself.
Early on, I designed stained glass windows. Designing for glass begins with a line drawing so that a pattern can be created. Because the properties of glass are limiting and the soldered joints used to hold the glass together are large, the patterns need to be simple. While I started drawing more, my line drawings became more complex and I made an easy transition away from glass.
I have always enjoyed drawing and for the last three years ... view more »
Professionally, I am an architect. I used my artistic skills and creativity while attaining my degree, but while pursuing other interests and other things throughout my life, art has been a constant. I have never, not created art.
I currently live in Illinois in a suburb of Chicago, but I was raised in northern Wisconsin. I only mention where I grew up because the landscape had a profound influence on my sense of beauty. As a kid, I spent a lot of time outdoors playing in the woods, picking wild flowers and riding my bike out in the countryside. My mind still goes back to the fields and woods of Wisconsin when I think about what is beautiful in this world.
I have been asked about how I developed my drawing style and how I arrived at my subject matter. When I write it down using terminology like “develop” and “subject matter”, it starts to sound planned and scientific, a bit stuffy. The truth is, it’s not. I am a self taught artist and my art is the natural result of years of drawing and discovering new methods and materials to express myself.
Early on, I designed stained glass windows. Designing for glass begins with a line drawing so that a pattern can be created. Because the properties of glass are limiting and the soldered joints used to hold the glass together are large, the patterns need to be simple. While I started drawing more, my line drawings became more complex and I made an easy transition away from glass.
I have always enjoyed drawing and for the last three years I have really focused on my current style of line drawing of trees and flowers. I describe this as my weird tree phase, but I don’t think it’s a phase at all. My style of drawing is the culmination of my love of pattern, love of color and love of our natural surroundings. The process of drawing is a methodical calm, an intense relaxation where I can escape into trailing patterns, joyful colors and a little bit of humor. My most favorite drawings are large and intricately detailed so that the viewer can return multiple times and find something new.
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