Though I was born in Punxsutawney, PA., I spent my developing childhood years and most of my life in South Florida. In 1974 I received my BFA (drawing / printmaking / photo) at Florida Atlantic Univ., and that point marked my initiation to a lifetime dedication to the arts and related interests. I earned my MFA in 1981 from the University of South Florida, focusing mostly on the drawing related media. I began teaching at USF (TA) in 1980 and, after returning to South Florida, taught at the university level continuously throughout 1996. During that time, I also had a State of Florida grant as an Artist-In-Residence (Screen-printing) at a small children’s museum for 4 years. Serigraphs from that 4+ year residency are included in the portfolios presented on this website.
Life changes happened and a slight redirection moved me to earn an MLA in Landscape Architecture from Florida International Univ. in 1999. Physical design became a demanding and rewarding pursuit for almost exactly 10 years. The economic blip in 2009 ended that chapter quickly. I returned to academia, but after several encounters with medical issues and subsequent interventional repair, I decided to retire from my active involvement in the job market. Since 2014 I have been retired and have devoted 100% of my time to producing my images.
Before grad school my work was mostly experimental and changing, with a definite bent to realism and/or representational imagery. I also worked in printmaking quite a bit, producing serigraph editions. I had one A-I-R residency before grad school and one after. My thesis work was entirely large scale coarse, but representational graphite figurative work. After grad school I moved into aggressive charcoal and pastel drawings, monotypes and continuing editioned serigraphs. Drawings capped out at 40”x60” (charcoal on vellum pieces). Pastel work also grew to 3’x4’ panels. Narratives began to appear and define the compositions.
Early 80’s and 90’s were a productive time and my wife (also an artist) and I had almost continuous 2-person exhibitions up and down the east coast. My hiatus to Landscape Architecture cut back on my studio production very noticeably but did not stop it. When the LA practice closed, I easily stepped back into the studio, while teaching occasionally for a few years. Having exhibited my art from the mid 70’s, it was completely natural to swing back into more actively exhibiting my work. To date my work has been included in numerous solo, duo, and group invitational or competitive exhibitions across the country. I have participated in over 100 or more Museum, university or commercial gallery and community artspace exhibitions. It has been and now still is a great life. Today I focus on producing layered, concept-driven paintings and sharing a clear record of that journey. Just recently I was subjected to a serious but predictable flood and lost not only my home but an extensive part of my earlier artwork. I bailed from the SoFla flatlands and now live and work in Gainesville, FL.
Adjunct Professor of Fine Arts:
Art Director / Artist–In–Residence, Discovery Center Museum, Ft. Lauderdale, FL