Museum

The only way to get anywhere fast in manhattan is to fly above the snarln of traffic. My imagination has that ability, even though the rest of me has to walk or catch a cab. For some reason when I am in the concrete canyons of NY I am reminded of the absence of nature. While I am awed by the sparkling lights and energy of the city, it is foreign to me, having grown up amongst the flora and fauna of rural Mississippi. I am compelled to bring just a touch of it with me to these manmade landscapes.

First in Watercolor Rivheson 75 landscape competition, 2007

Winner of thr Walser Greathouse Medal AWS 141st international exhibition, 2008

Salis International award Northwest Watercolor Society, 2008

The first few times I visited New York city, this Mississippi boy felt like an odd duck out of water. Many of my NYC cityscapes feature wildlife out of place. This concrete jungle was once home to lots of waterfowl and woodland creatures, but today overdevelopment is the norm and wildlife here is pretty much only the human kind.

Winner of the Gallery Award in the 2008 Mississippi Grand National Watercolor Exhibition

Winner of The Margery Soroka Memorial Award from the American Watercolor Society 2009

Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy, was one of the first of many magical places I've explored as an artist. The city floods with the high tide, and is slowly sinking into the mud below. I can't ever get my fill of Venice and return as often as I can. When the water is high, tabletops become public walkways. As the water recedes, many locals will wade through the knee-deep spots.

On my first trip to Italy I wandered into the Vatican as the Pope was saying mass. As he prayed he would look upward to the roof of the baldiccino and the dome. I chose this perspective to draw from, but was escorted out three days in a row for sliding under the velvet ropes to get my view. It was many years later that I felt i had the ability to tackle such a complicated painting.

Rain seems to dampen most folks' spirit in the city. I look forward to rain and the multitude of reflections it brings. I revel in the solitude as others scramble for cover. Rain on my parade anytime! I live for it. It intensifies the color and awakens the senses. When it rains I feel alive.

How such a small and simple design could cause such a ruckus I couldn't have possibly imagined. This one did though. It contains a huge story that played out in newspapers, magazines and political circles around the country, but they distorted what really happened. Only a few people know the whole story, but it's a chapter I'll get around to writing eventually. It's a good one.

I have a muse that inspires me to paint and I must follow the whims in my heart. The human body is a masterpiece, in any form, in any condition. We’re all stuck with one for a very short time, like it or not. Embrace it, love it, appreciate the complexities and celebrate the nuances! The human form is a work of art.

With a presence too large to adequately capture on a single piece of paper, Hugo Vianello conducted a symphony of talent to great heights. He offered me an extraordinary opportunity to sit in the middle of his symphony during a performance. Decked in a tuxedo to blend with the musicians, I played first camera that night and captured poetry in motion. The reference photos were a great blur of movement but were just enough information to guide my portrait.