Who I Am

I began making art at the age of four. My father was an artist and I would sit beside him drawing while he worked. Since then, creating for me has never really stopped.

Though I've branched into other forms of expression through my life – including photography, writing and music / audio creation – making images has always remained a constant and significant part of who I am -  defined and renewed with each new exploration with a pencil or brush.

Besides my watching and learning from my dad, I have very little formal training and am primarily self-taught.

I did take art classes in public elementary and middle school in Grand Rapids, Michigan - where I was lucky to have a great teacher who taught technique (my first oil painting!) and introduced me to the history of art, which resonated strongly with me even then.

Once in high school I turned to photography and writing, but took a full year of college level Art History. Going to Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, I majored in English and attended a few foundational studio drawing classes.

After school, in 1983, I moved to Seattle. I lived there for ten years and became part of the fledgling underground rock music scene that would explode in the 90s. I worked in live sound, recording studios, and toured the US and internationally with the band, The Walkabouts. I continued to draw and make things, like posters for shows.

A few key things happened during this time. First, I took formal painting classes at the Seattle Art School, which I embraced avidly. Secondly, I returned on my own to the deep study of art. This included not only much reading, but in particular attending any museum I could. I had the amazing opportunity to see many great works of art with The Walkabouts while touring the cities of this country and Europe.

To this day, I still visit museums and exhibitions, at least a dozen or more times a year - to look, absorb, sketch and learn. This is where I believe most of my “education” has been achieved - standing in front of a landscape, Manet, Picasso or Keifer.

I have had many wonderful opportunities now to make and show my work. Starting with The Walkabouts, who (once I left my role of sound manipulator) allowed me the chance to create artwork for their albums, as well as their stage shows. This still continues.

Additionally, I've done over 130 graphic designs that ended up on frisbees, now flying all over the world. I’ve also created magazine covers and posters. One group being for a lecture and concert series entitled “Power of Music,” (which I was also a creator and executive producer of). And most recently a piece of artwork I made for the Women's Marches of this year went "viral" and was used and carried by thousands in rallies around the globe. A very humbling experience for me.

Finally, I've had group and solo art shows on the west coast and here in the midwest, and I travel to Europe to do projects at music and art festivals in the summertime.

I now work and keep a studio in my original hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Mediums

Drawing - graphite, charcoal, ink brush and pen

Painting - oil, acrylic, gouache, watercolor

Printmaking - woodcut, linocut, color reduction relief

Graphic Design - scratchboard, upper media, digital

100% Handmade

All the pieces found on this site are completely created by hand, including prints and silkscreens.

At this time I do not market digital reproductions of my work.

Art long had a noble distinction of being a craft - involving the presence, focus, labor and skill of an artist. It is my belief that this degree of commitment is woven deeply into original artwork, giving it a soul.