I have always been a creative person but twenty five years ago I had a health scare that changed how I looked at my life and what my goals and desires are while I am here. It has nothing to do with money, fame, material items. It is about learning, teaching, and giving back. It is about creating and the process of creating that is the gift and not for others but to yourself. I see this now and in many ways in my life and it has let me not think twice about something I see and helps me not to edit myself.
My thought process at the time was to look at Artist’s work who inspired me and whose work moved me. These artist’s were mostly Watercolor Artist’s ( Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth, John Singer Sargaent ). These Artists sparked my journey and with any journey the paths fork and you become inspired by other Artists that you meet along the way, or looking back at something you didn’t see the same way the first time. I am inspired by too many things now but really enjoy seeing things in a different way, or combining things that don’t normally co-exist. I am heading into more surreal than real. They all have stories behind them and usually connect to other stories. Painting now is so different from when I started. It is the difference between being dropped in a foreign country without speaking the language vs. speaking the language fluently in that country. The experience is very different when you can have full conversations with the paint and you both know each other so well that it is a meditation not a thought.
I presently live in Key West and it’s light and colors inspire me and my work. My goal is to push my abilities and ideas each year. I want people to see these paintings and think “Yes...this is different. He is trying something new.” Each painting is created by a thread of a thought. I want all the paintings to connect in color, composition, subject...a cohesive body of work. A narrative of thoughts and images that inspired me.
Some people need to be pushed to realize they are in the wrong place. The most important part of being pushed is knowing it and listening so they can change direction to get on the right path. This was my push, or wake up call and I listened. It was a gift that I acknowledge everyday and cherish.
