BACKGROUND
As a young boy in Chicago, I drew trains. Many, many trains. As early as junior high, I was recognized in a state art competition depicting a railyard scene - the perspective of tracks, power poles, buildings and rolling stock.
Landscapes, nature, and human achievement have inspired me since childhood when my mother and I enjoyed Saturdays in the galleries of the Art Institute of Chicago. The compositions and light within the paintings of John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, J.M.W. Turner and many wonderful Impressionists amazed me then and still inspire me to this day.
I attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago. During my time there I was fortunate to study life drawing and painting under the direction of two modern-day masters both of whom taught there for over 40 years. Bill Parks’ Life Drawing instruction provided the crucial foundation for all that is art for me. Portrait and figure drawing learned early on plays a fundamental role in my work today.
The watercolor paintings of Irving Shapiro absolutely blew me away. Before seeing his painting demonstrations and finished works first hand, I could not fathom the impact and vitality that transparent watercolor could have. I was hooked on watercolor for life.