Artist’s Statement / Biography
I stood next to my grandfather’s chair as he told a story about the carnival, drawing out the story’s path on a piece of paper with small, detailed scenes at each attraction. I was frozen in place watching his rough, coal miner’s hand deftly illustrate the scene his words were describing. I was hooked. I needed to make images.
For me, art has always been a religion. So it is no surprise that religious themes and images are common in my work.
Encaustic has become my primary medium for several reasons. Texture. Speed. Luminosity. Workability. The ability to melt and rework the paint, even after it is set.
Most of my recent work begins with found objects, scavenged or found at flea markets. There are times these objects present an immediate direction, but more often the spark is small and I need to live with the objects, finding relationships and colors that determine the final direction, determine what the finished work will be. As ideas surface they are sketched small, then sketched to size. Pencil and watercolor are combined to determine composition and color, with construction of the wood foundation coming next. Then I melt the wax.
What gives an object value and meaning? What makes an object a relic or a talisman? These questions drive my work. The symbols and symbolism of Western religion are reoccurring themes in my work. I explore the power of objects and their spiritual symbolism and meaning – for both myself and the viewer.
I currently live and have my studio in Salem, MA. I received my BFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University.
Selected Exhibitions
We Share One Sky | Juried Group Show | Newburyport Art Assoc. | Newburyport, MA | April 2024
Artoberfest | Group Show | Salem Arts Assoc. Galleries | Salem, MA | October 2023
Tell Me a Story | Group Show | Salem Arts Assoc. Galleries | Salem, MA | March 2023
Duality | Group Show | Galleries at Lynn Arts | Lynn, MA | January 2022
PEM Inspirational | Group Show | Salem Arts Assoc. Galleries | Salem, MA | September 2021
Abstracting Nature | Group Show | Spectrum Gallery | Centerbrook, CT | May 2021
Image / Imagination | Group Show | Salem Arts Assoc. Galleries | Salem, MA | May 2021
Don’t Talk Politics or Religion | Solo Show | Salem Arts Assoc. Galleries | Salem, MA | August 2019
All The Arts Are Sisters | Group Show | Salem Arts Assoc. Galleries | Salem, MA | August 2019
Salon des Refuses | Group Show | Salem Arts Assoc. Galleries | Salem, MA | June/July 2019
Roots | Group Show | Olde Town Hall | Salem, MA | May 2019
Variations | Juried Group Show | Marblehead Arts Assoc. | Marblehead, MA | Febraury 2019
Positive/Negative 34 | Juried Group Show | Slocumb Gallery, ETSU | Johnson City, TN | February 2019
Untold Stories - PEM 2018 Inspirational | Invitational Group Show | Salem Arts Assoc. Gallery | Salem, MA | October 2018
Dark Arts | Juried Group Show | Salem Arts Assoc. Gallery | Salem, MA | October 2018
Defining the Art of Change in the Age of Trump | Juried Group Show | The Center for Contemporary Political Art | Washington D.C. | September - November 2018
Game On | Juried Group Show | Salem Arts Assoc. Gallery | Salem, MA | June 2018
10th Annual Salem Arts Festival | Juried Group Show | Old Town Hall | Salem, MA | June 2018
Predator | Juried Group Show | Linus Gallery | Los Angeles, CA | March 2018
Square 1 | Juried Group Show | Carlisle Art Center | Carlisle, PA | January 2018
Wax Poetic | Juried Group Show | Fabulon Art Center | Charleston, SC | October 2017
Art On The Marquee | Public Art Collaboration | Boston CyberArts - MA Convention Center | Boston, MA | June 2017
If This Art Could Vote | Online Group Show | The Huffington Post | New York, NY | October 2016
Heaven and Earth | Juried Group Show | Linus Gallery | Los Angeles, CA | October 2016
Noir | Group Show | Uforge Gallery | Jamaica Plain, MA | October 2016
5th Annual Encaustic Show | Juried Group Show | Morpho Gallery | Chicago, IL | August 2016
UFG: The First Five Years | Juried Group Show | Uforge Gallery | Jamaica Plain, MA | April 2016
Cultural Icons | Juried Group Show | Linus Gallery | Los Angeles, CA | February 2016
Framing Religion - Connections and Conflicts | Juried Group Show | Carlisle Arts Center | Carlisle, PA | January 2016
Oddities | Juried Group Show | Linus Gallery | Los Angeles, CA | November 2015
Abstracted | Invitational Group Show | Uforge Gallery | Jamaica Plain, MA | November 2015
"Edges" 4th Annual Encaustic Show | Juried Group Show | Morpho Gallery | Chicago, IL | August 2015
Corpus Illuminata | Juried Group Show | Tangent Gallery | Detroit, MI | August 2015
Juror's Choice | Juried Group Show | Uforge Gallery | Jamaica Plain, MA | July/August 2015