I began my career as an artist almost 35 years ago as a portrait painter. After over a decade of focusing primarily on my love for painting the face, I chose to explore the human form from a different perspective, i.e., through mannerisms, gestures and body rather than facial expression.  The face captures the viewer's attention and all else becomes secondary. I decided to turn that around. Now my paintings are about how much I can leave out while still telling the story. The viewer is still able to read a narrative within my canvases but must finish the story him or herself. I supply the suggestion and the viewer must bring his own experience into the picture to complete it. My quest is to pare down the forms, my brushwork and the image to the bare essentials. In this way, every stroke becomes significant. While I paint in oils, my approach is almost watercolor-like. Once placed, a line of charcoal or stroke of paint cannot be removed or covered so it has to be right the first time. I intentionally do not overpaint or even seemingly finish the paintings to achieve a freshness and deceptive simplicity.  My quest is to use the figurative model to create abstract compositions, to show rugged strength of form within a context of beauty.

From a rooftop in Rome to a loft in Soho to a pied a terre in Buenos Aires, I have always found my travels to provide an opportunity for creative work. My first inspiration for turning the backs on my portrait studies began in Venice with waiters in outdoor cafes. Eventually, I was invited into the kitchens of many of the great restaurants of Paris and New York to draw and paint the choreographed dance that I saw when studying chefs at work. This year, I finally took my study of the human dance directly to dance itself and have worked with the members of Ballet Florida here in West Palm Beach as well as using studies gathered in the past from the Paris Ballet in L'Opera.

Please visit my booth at the Palm Beach Art, Antique & Design Center at 500 North Dixie Highway in Lake Worth, FL to see more of my work or contact me directly at 917-592-3414 if you would like to arrange a studio visit at 1815 So Olive Ave Unit 2 in West Palm Beach, FL