I was born in Spokane Washington in 1933. I studied at Eastern
Washington University, Fort Wright College and the Spokane Arts Center (an
extension of Washington State University).
My early paintings were abstract expressionist for the most part and
gradually evolved into my present style as I felt the need to more precisely
communicate my thoughts. My method of painting, however, has not changed, and I
still approach a painting in the same way. I begin a painting with no idea in
mind, and at a certain point in the process of putting paint on the canvas, an
idea will suggest itself. Many of these ideas change and many are rejected until
one seems strong enough to accept. My paintings, then, are essentially a record
of the evolution of an idea.
The imagery that has developed over the course of my career is
largely figurative. The figures are both animal and human, and most of them
relate to human actions, associations and relationships, many of which are drawn
from personal experience.
My technique has evolved through years of painting, as has my
imagery. I paint directly on the sized canvas, with no preliminary drawing or
outline. The paint is poured, dripped, rubbed and wiped, and I use rags and my
fingertips at least as frequently as I do brushes. The decisions made concerning
color, light space etc. are largely intuitive.
The color is treated generally by under painting with warm colors
overlaid with cooler ones. This technique gives an inner glow to the paint. I
use mostly single figures, either animal or human forms, with a strong
relationship between the figure and the background (usually a light figure
against a dark ground or vice versa). I find a single figure to be more visually
powerful than groups of figures; consequently most of my paintings consist of
single subjects. Many times the image gives the appearance of being back lighted
with the light glowing around the edges. The light is usually ambiguous,
appearing to come from more than one source or no definable source
whatsoever.
My justification for forty years of work is that I am trying to put
something worthwhile into the world and to make paintings that cannot be
forgotten.