About

I am a contemporary landscape painter focusing on the interplay of abstraction and representation. My current work’s focus is the beautiful terrain of Western North Carolina and its unique light and texture. I work with both acrylic paints and oils on canvas, paper, or wood panel. As a native Californian, I’ve always drawn inspiration from the San Francisco Bay Area school of painters of the 1940s and ’50s, with its vibrant colors and loose gestural brushwork. In my own work I rely on an enhanced color palette and try to keep my brushwork as loose as possible without letting the image dissolve into chaos, which involves a kind of give-and-take approach to finding resolution in the painting. This visual dance is what keeps me engaged with the process of painting, even after 25 years of dedicated practice. 

Being a landscape painter is not simply a single-minded adherence to a certain subject matter. Instead, it is an extension of my passion for nature and my way of honoring what’s left of our undeveloped wilderness. 

Residencies

Burren College of Art, Ballyvaughan, Ireland (2012–2014)

Representation

Tyger Tyger Gallery, Asheville, NC

Awards

Best of Show for Painting, Belleville Illinois Fine Art Show (2017)
Best of Show for Painting, La Jolla Festival of Art (2000)
Best of Show for Painting, La Jolla Festival of Art (1999)
William Dole Award for Excellence in Painting, UCSB (1986)
First Prize, UCSB drawing competition (1985)

Education

MFA in Studio Art, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC (2019)

BFA, University of California at Santa Barbara (1986)

Exhibitions

2023
Group Show, Place and Wonder, Tyger Tyger Gallery, Asheville, NC
Faculty Show, Bardo Art Museum, Western Carolina University, NC
2020
Faculty Show, Bardo Art Museum, Western Carolina University, NC
2018
Group Show, Local Made Local, The Bascom Art Center, Highlands, NC

2017
Group show, Blue Spiral Gallery, Asheville, NC
Group show, Bascom Art Center, Highlands, NC

2016
Two-person show, Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC

2014
Solo show, The Russell Gallery, New Quay, Ireland
Group show, Gormley Gallery, Dublin, Ireland

2013
Solo show, Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Group show, Sullivan-Goss, Santa Barbara, CA
Group show, Courthouse Gallery, Ennistimon, County Clare, Ireland
Group show, Warm Springs Gallery, Warm Springs, VA

2010
Solo show, Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Solo show, Glave-Kocen Gallery, Richmond, VA

2008
Solo show, Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC

2007
Solo show, McLean Gallery, Malibu, CA
Two-person show, Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC

2006
Solo show, McLean Gallery, Malibu, CA

2005
Solo show, McLean Gallery, Malibu, CA

2004
Solo show, McLean Gallery, Malibu, CA

2003
Solo show, 7 Degrees Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Solo show, McLean Gallery, Malibu, CA
Group show, Sales and Rental Gallery, L.A. County Museum of Art
Two-person show, Berozkina Gallery, Kirkland, WA

2002
Group show, McLean Gallery, Malibu, CA
Group show, SoHo Gallery, Studio City, CA
Group show, Square Blue Gallery, Newport Beach, CA

2001
Group show, Square Blue Gallery, Newport Beach, CA
Group show, Arco Tower, Los Angeles, CA

2000
Group show, H. Pollock Fine Art, Summerland, CA

1996
Group show, Barbara Bratthen Gallery, NYC, NY

1995
Group show, Barbara Bratthen Gallery, NYC, NY

1994
Group show, East of Abstraction Gallery, NYC, NY

1992
Solo show, Willoughby Sharp Gallery, NYC, NY

1990
Group show, Willoughby Sharp Gallery, NYC, NY

1989
Group show, Rempire Gallery, NYC, NY

1987
Solo show, Ward Lawrence Gallery, NYC, NY

1986
Senior honor show, UC Santa Barbara