I was born and brought up in Rhode Island, and I have been creating art and artisan projects for forty-five years. My faith in God has kept a love of nature burning in my heart all my life. I am an artist and Master Craftsman, but above all, I am a “Student of Nature”.
As a young man, I left school to take private art classes for several years with Anthony Dattoro, a wonderful Providence artist. I worked as a carpenter to save some money to go to school at the Art Students League of New York. At the Art Students League, I learned dynamic figure drawing and studied landscape painting. I then moved back to Rhode Island, and continued my education at Rhode Island College as an Art Major. I won the special talent award two years in a row and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1990.
I once heard a visiting Priest/ Artist say “an artist is someone who cannot help themselves they have to do art”. I have found this notion to be a true description of my life. I can remember working on a Historic building in Sherborn, MA, when I saw in the corner stone what looked like a Native American face. At my lunch, I released him from his stony cell with a four-inch diamond disc and some cold chisels. I had carved out the aboriginal head from the granite corner stone of the early colonial blacksmith shop and learned that art surrounds us if we only look.
Over the years, my education, skills and experience have allowed me to work on many historic buildings. These buildings happen to be in some of Rhode Island’s most beautiful locations. I have worked on several lighthouses, some of them for extended periods of time. Many of these projects lead me to create custom works of art. Replica foghorns for the fog signal building on Beavertail is one of the many artisan projects I have had the privilege to be able to undertake. I was also able to rebuild the original foundation for the 1749 colonial lighthouse at Beavertail. I have felt the spray of the ocean on my face, at work and on the way to work, and the sense that Rhode Island is genuinely a special place. The best commute is in a Boston Whaler, on route to islands in Narragansett Bay.
Through these and many other experiences as an artisan and craftsman, I hope I have been able to bring to my paintings those feelings for God and nature which give that sensibility of accomplishment, peace & wholeness. In our great little state, there are so many places where the play of light and atmosphere are extremely beautiful, and extremely special. I want to be able to bring the hidden mysteries and drama of our place to my audience in my work.
I have primarily been a plein air painter. I enjoy the challenge of working outdoors in “live” settings, and I look forward to meeting new people who might appreciate my work and the beauty of the Ocean State. It is my life’s mission to bring light and joy to people through great art.
