Nature has always been a passion for me so I started drawing while very young as a way to keep some small part of it with me. As a child, I used to catch (and release) birds and small animals for the same reason. I had this little boy's need to literally hold on to nature any way that I could. Experience has taught me that possessing it is less important than letting nature possess you. I no longer catch things, but I still capture them on canvas. My art is still a way for me to hold on to nature, but instead of giving me something to literally embrace, my paintings instead provide me with all of the feelings and memories elicited by them. My goal as an artist is to liberate similar, serene recollections of the natural world for people that see my work. In some small way I have hope that this will inspire more respect for our natural environment.
When I talk about nature I am also often referring to animals. Not only birds, deer, and foxes, but also dogs, cats and cows. Sure there is a difference in living arrangements. But when I look into the eyes of a dog I can help but think that it is often the same look that I have occasionally gotten to see when close enough to see into the eyes of a deer or a bird or even an alligator. I feel connected to animals and that connection comes through in my paintings.
Because of my intense connection to the natural environment, I strive to represent it as I experience it. I photograph the animals and settings I paint and have a reference photo library numbering in the thousands. These photos provide me the information I need to accurately depict my subjects. After spending many years drawing, I can quickly sketch the general composition on to my canvas and start painting. I often start with an under-painting to work out composition and values and then apply final layers and the appropriate tints and strokes to create details. Painting in a style that has been described as Fine Art Illustration, I sometimes spend hours on fine details in feathers, branches, eyes, fur, or leaves and change details until I am satisfied with the feeling they create. At other times, I spend a single day on a plein air painting and enjoy the more painterly feel of the piece. I blend or glaze colors that are often seen only in the extreme light of morning or evening because those times of day evoke a special feeling for me. My goal as an artist is primarily to convey those feelings by connecting with that part of the viewer that feels they have been somewhere or seen something similar, can smell and feel the air and hear the sounds, and is excited about feeling that way again. By providing the viewer with fine details, I seek to give them more than an overview if they desire it. I strive to provide them with a pleasing composition when seen from a distance, but then a visual indulgence when they come closer to see more. A sparkle in an animal’s eye, a shadow through a leaf, or petite feathers around a beak are available for those who want to see things up close while the color, mood, and light of a special place and time are available to all.
