I grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan in the small town of Port Washington, Wisconsin. This early influence informs much of my work. My paintings are about the color, silence and space of these hours on Lake Michigan. They explore the tension of the lake's serene vastness with the complex confusion of the rocks and detritus washed up upon its shores.
Everywhere I look I see adstractions, sometimes as if I am on a mountaintop looking down. My work often involves the variegated forms, shapes and lines in the vista below. It reflects the geometry of this abstracted landscape of my mind. I fracture my landscape portraits into a combination of geometric shapes, stuttering lines and translucent colors.
I rarely know how my canvases will end because they are not planned but develop while I work on them. I begin with pencil or ink markings and paint drips. I continue to add layer after layer of glaze, paint and markings. The under painting is as important to me as the final layer of paint. For me making art involves this process of adding and subtracting, covering and uncovering in dance with my canvas. When the dance is over, I am often suprised with the result while simultaneously knowing that it is what was meant to be.
I moved from Illinois to New Jersey in 1979 and lived there for 23 years. I received my masters of art during this period as well as studying with Ronnie Landfield at the Art Students League of New York.
I returned to the Midwest in 2002 and currently reside in Illinois.