I drew constantly as a child. It could be anything from cars to landscapes, and it was all I could do to not doodle on my homework or desk at school. My parents finally gave in and enrolled me in an oil painting class at the age of eight at an artists’ gallery in Bellevue, WA. This is where I spent five years developing a love and appreciation for all kinds of art and artists.

I graduated from Washington State University in 1990 with my Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts, and my career path turned into graphic design for a time. However, in 2006, the kids were getting old enough and I was getting an internal desire to go back to oil painting again. I loved the feeling and smell of the paint, but I noticed that I was way less patient with the process than I used to be.

I was inspired by artists who used impasto and palette knife techniques that provided interesting textures and seemed to create a spontaneity I couldn’t produce in my own style I was used to. I decided to switch solely to palette knife and lot’s of paint. And it’s been that way ever since.

With the palette knife, I feel like I can be more expressive, worry less about details, and get more into the idea of the moment, rather than obsessing about accurate visual articulation. I work to create a sense of space, and use the paint to develop a three dimensional surface. I want these images to conjure up an old memory, to entice you to consider making a new one. It’s the “what if” of putting yourself into the environment that drives my artwork.