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In the 1970's, with a new M.A. in
art, I made one of those impulsive decisions that turn out to be life
changing. I moved from my native Los Angeles to Santa Barbara,
where I found what would become my lifetime focus in art: the
unique character and power of the light and the land in California.
For the first time, I was able to observe and draw the intensity of that
light and record contrasts of native vegetation against canyon walls and
ocean cliffs.
For three years, every hour I was
not teaching art or working in graphic design, I hiked the hills,
canyons and beaches of Santa Barbara County, Prisma Colors and
sketchbook in my backpack, exploring the possibilities of the land and
of my own work, reacting to the light and the land in different times
and different seasons.
When I had the opportunity to
teach art part time at Monterey Peninsula College, I chose to live in
Scotts Valley, a small town in the coastal redwoods, which meant that as an artist I had a world of new discoveries to
make, from Point Lobos' coastal cliffs and cypress to Big Basin's
waterfalls and redwoods. Again, I hiked, colored pencils at the
ready, but I began to work as well in watercolor. On site painting
made me focus on the importance of a strong composition. I liked
the transparency of watercolor, the freshness and immediacy of the
medium.
 Today
my wife, Karin, and I live on California's central coast in Los Osos and
teach in Santa Maria. I remain the backpack artist, setting out
with no real destination in mind -- discovery still looms large in my
work -- only now I carry acrylics, brushes, pallets and a portable easel.
I may find myself at La Purisima Mission painting a landscape through a
colonnade or at Montana de Oro painting the coast or at Sweet Springs
painting Morro Rock across the bay. The California landscape
continues to inspire me in its range of subject matter and in the
immense variety within a single subject. Returning to an area
often, seeing it in a different light or at another time of year,
creates renewed discovery, a whole new perspective and a new moment to
capture within my work.
My painting style is in the
tradition of the Impressionists, but I don't try to place myself in a
particular category or attach myself to a school of painting. I
paint what I see and what I react to, what I connect with intellectually
and emotionally. I love to set up and see what happens. I
love the unexpectedness of juxtapositions and even serendipity.
The moment is important and what the scene becomes through the act of
painting. Often the work will take over, interpreting shapes and
colors and relationships, responding to changes in light and movement.
I let that happen. It is my intention to let the art find its way.
The journey is the joy for me; the successful result -- if there is
one -- is the reward. |
