My Life As An Artist

My life as an artist goes back many years. When I was just a boy I knew I had a God given gift of creativity. My father was a musician and singer and also had an undeveloped gift of visual art. My mother loved music and dance and had a flare for art in many ways. so much of my creative gifts were genetic and culturally instilled. I was also endowed with a very competitive nature which seemed to drive me to want to be the best I could be in whatever I was pursuing, especially in my creative ventures.

So with this almost lop-sided right brain I began as a youth to discover all I could about visual arts. I read books and articles on how to become a great artist. I learned at an early age in a somewhat intuitive way about composition and negative space and the fundamentals of light and shadows. I studied the works of the great artist such as Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Vermeer and Wm Bouguereau. It opened my eyes to the world of these great Masters of technique, style and design. The basics of drawing, layout and color were hidden in these studies.

With this limited knowledge and passion I began to draw horses, people, trucks, cars and motorcycles. I saw that perspective and hues were also part of bringing dynamics to my work and that there was a lot more to becoming a great artist than just pencil lines on paper. I started exploring color as a young teenage kid. I remember having a bicycle that I must have painted at least twenty times with different colors and designs. One of my early mentors was a local sign painter in our little town. I would ride my bike down town to watch him work on windows and various signs. He was also a very good muralist. He didn't know until many years later that I was even watching him work and how he influenced my art career.

During my twenties and a few years after my college days my wife and I began raising a family. I opened a sign business and was also pursuing a music career at the time and traveled extensively throughout the United States singing and also recording in Nashville. It became more difficult to justify being on the road for long periods of time so I curtailed my music career so I could spend more time with my family. This new change gave me more time to now pursue my visual art. I still divide my time with my music and art careers, two passions always battling for equal space.

Are children grew up with great careers and wonderful families. Now it was time to show the world the art that I had been creating all these years. For about fifteen years we did juried art shows throughout the US. I had won my share of awards during this time which opened the opportunity to show my works in various galleries.

Today most of my work is done in my home studio. On occasion I will do on location murals on walls and vehicles. My main medium is oil on canvas or board. I also do watercolors and pencil sketches. The vehicle art I produce is usually done with the use of airbrush. My canvas paintings consist of a variety of subject matter which include landscapes, waterscapes, wildlife, portraits and people, still life, architectural renderings and inspirational art. My most recent project was compiling fifty of my watercolor paintings of the old Victorian homes in our area into a coffee table book. Along with photos of the homes is a brief history of each home.

In the near future I have plans to do more on location Plein air paintings. I do my share of commissioned paintings which is an exciting part of my art career. I never know what lies ahead but always look forward to new challenges. Maybe that next canvas will be for your home or office. So with this almost lopsided right brain I began as a youth to discover all I could about visual arts.