Statement
I live in Fredericksburg, Texas with my wife Jill, and daughter Ava. I studied oil painting and sculpture at the Academy of Art, San Francisco, where I graduated with distinction in the winter of 2004. While at the Academy I concluded that the technique of the artist is superior to the subject matter of the work. It is not enough for the painting to be a visual accompaniment to the intellect of the artist. Only with maturity and insight gained by painting, as a student, can one become an artist. Fine art comes from within the artist in a stream of consciousness, not unlike a jazz improvisation. This does not mean that it is all about feelings, or passion. While an improvisational musician cannot change key midway through a composition, neither can an artist disregard the academic pillars necessary to uphold a great painting. Just as a long crescendo carries the listener to the climax, I believe an artist must work with restraint, guiding the viewer to that place where they wish to demonstrate power and achieve the static moment in the painting. One must learn to paint before being able to create art in the form of a painting, just as one must learn to play a musical instrument, as a student, before being able to create art in the form of music.
