Artist's Biography & Statement
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My art portrays a strong sense of place with dramatic lighting and expressive color. I consider my landscapes to be spiritual documents of my travels throughout the United States and abroad. For the past several years, Cape Cod has become a favorite subject of mine. I never tire of the color, the quality of the light or the raw beauty of the Cape as inspiration for my work. With my landscapes, I work both Plein Air and in the studio. I also produce still lifes, although, these tend to be more personal, contemplative, compositional works.
Pastel is my preferred medium. It is a perfect marriage of both the drawing and painting disciplines. Sometimes utilizing an underpainting, I use broad, painterly applications of bold, pure colors. It is a very spontaneous medium, allowing calligraphic applications of pigment. I want the evidence of my hand or the “mark making” to be seen. I do not mechanically blend my colors but prefer to use strokes to optically mix the desired hue. Although my work is representational, I consider myself an expressionistic colorist.
I was born in North Carolina but I have lived in many parts of the country. Experiencing these diverse parts of the U.S. in my youth undoubtedly shaped my interest in landscape painting. My early years were spent in El Paso and Miami. Later moves brought me to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New York City and eventually, to Buffalo.
I received my BFA in Painting and Drawing from the Philadelphia College of Art. I have had additional fine art training at the National Arts Club and the Arts Students League, both in New York City. My artistic affiliations include membership in the Pastel Society of America, the Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod, and the Buffalo Society of Artists. I received my M.S. in Art Education from the State University College at Buffalo.
My pastels are influenced most strongly by the American Impressionists. I feel that they took the work of the French Impressionists and gave it an American bravura with their unique use of color and paint application.
SELECTED SOLO AND JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2009 "Pastel Perfect: A Survey of Western New York Pastel Artists", The Kenan Center, Lockport, NY. Juror Gerald Meade, Curator, The Burchfeild-Penny Art Center, Buffalo, NY
2008 “Richeson 75 Exhibit", Richeson School of Art,
Kimberly, WI
2008 “A New stART Exhibit", The Family Justice Center, The Church, Buffalo, NY
2008 “Fall Exhibition”, Impact Artists’ Gallery, Buffalo, NY. Juror: Holly Hughes, Associate Curator, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
2008 "Buffalo Society of Artsist 112th Annual Catolague Exhibition", Art Dialouge Gallery, Buffalo, NY. Juror John Vanco, director and curator of Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA
2008 "13th Annual for Pastels Only, on Cape Cod", Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod, Creative Arts Center of Chatham, Chatham, MA. Jurors Al Latchman & Terry Ludwig.
2008 "Buffalo Society of Artists 2008 Spring Show", Insite Gallery, Buffalo, NY
2007 “Re-Art”, Gallery 141B, Buffalo, NY
2007 “Our Visual Journey…with Light & Color”,
The New Gallery at Partners in Art, North Tonawanda, NY
2005 “Buffalo Society of Artists 109th Annual Juried Catalog Exhibition”, Art Dialogue Gallery, Buffalo, NY
2004 “New Horizons”, Just Pasta Restaurant, Buffalo, NY
2003 “Color and Light”, Underground Gallery, Ellicottville, NY
SELECTED AWARDS
2003, 2004 & 2006 "Third Place Award, Drawing & Graphics", Allentown Village Art Society Outdoor Art Festival, Buffalo, NY
2004 "Second Prize for Pastel", East Aurora Art Society Outdoor Exhibition, East Aurora, NY
2001 "First Place Award", Buffalo Society of Artists Fall Exhibition, Adams Art Gallery, Dunkirk, NY
1999 "The Jess McDonough Award", Impact Artists Gallery 1999 National Pastel Exhibition, Buffalo, NY
EDUCATION
2003 M.S., Art Education, State University College at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
1982-84 Studied Pastel, The Arts Students League of New York, New York, NY
1978 B.F.A., Painting and Drawing, Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
COLLECTIONS
Artwork is in international, national, corporate and private collections.
AFILLIATIONS
2007-present Pastel Painters Society of Cape Cod
2004-present Pastel Society of America
1994-present Buffalo Society of Artists
2001-2002 Roycroft Renaissance Artisans Association
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