Art style: My art style would fall into the realm of Realism and Surrealism. I love to paint the beauty of the world around us, but more often than not my imagination wants a say in the matter, after that the final product has only the vaguest link to the world of realism.
Hometown: I grew up in Naples FL.
Early art experience: As early as fifth grade I was always doodling, but it was in high school, under a great teacher Mr. Pat Morrison, that art really dug its teeth into me. The art competitions, gallery showings, the concept of creating something, anything, from a simple blank canvas, it all struck a chord with me and I was hooked.
Favorite artists? Degas and John Singer Sargent have always amazed me with their skill, Rodin also holds a special spot in my heart
Art schooling: After High school I took a few summer classes at RISD and a few jewelry classes at Arrowmont craft school in Gatlinburg TN. Beyond that it has all been practice practice practice
Favorite book: Watership Down by Richard Adams, Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, and (oddly enough for as liberal as I am) Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Where is your studio located? Currently in Limbo, soon (hopefully) in Water Valley.
How many hours do you spend in your studio each day? Ideally at least three hours is needed to make any significant progress, anything that the day allows past that is a gratefully used.
Most productive hours? Early morning hours are my favorite out of the day to work, as the world outside begins to stir so do I. With coffee in hand I like to put together the ideas that came about from the day before.
Favorite project you’ve completed: My favorite projects are the ones that are geared to a specific individual. From a painting of an imagined Mt Dew factory, for a good friend who LOVES Mt Dew, to a still-life painting for my father that contains physical memories from our history together within it. A portrait I once did for a friend of the family also stands out. She had an infant child pass before his first year and had a picture of him that she wanted painted. That piece meant a lot to me and actually helped kick start me out of a 2-year creative slump
Three ideas you want to explore in art? I want to play with both movement and light in my future work. Not the representation of movement and light but actual movement and actual light. A comic strip has also been playing around in my head over the past few years too. I’d like to see were that goes.
Where we can see some of your art on display: Currently upon request only
Do you have a “day job”? If so, where? I am a server at Boure on the square
Favorite music/bands? Beatles, Blind Mellon, Pearl Jam, Elton John, Fun
What are some of your other hobbies? I also love gardening, landscaping, and dabbling with bonsai.
Where do you hang out in oxford? I stick close to home at Boure, they have some of the best bartenders in town, past that at a close second would be Lenoras.
How can Oxfords art scene be improved? It would be hard to improve upon the job that Wayne Andrews has been doing here with the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council. I however would love to see some community outreach in the form of a wall mural to bring some color to some of the back alleys of oxford.
Aspirations: To get a jewelry line comfortably up and running so I can have more time to work on my paintings.