That’s Our JAM

I consider myself a regional oil painter of landscapes, seascapes, and historic architecture. My style walks the line between realism and abstraction. I love to experiment with materials and techniques, and work on paper, wood, linen and canvas. Often tonal, loose abstract washes are first, followed by texture and heavier paint applied with large brushes and palette knife. I also do pen and ink watercolors of scenes on Block Island and produce giclee print editions.

I am a plein air artist at heart and use a fair amount of palette knife in my work. I like the textures and somewhat abstract nature that compliments my brush strokes.

I primarily focus on watercolor but have also recently dabbled in oils. My work is representational with a painterly quality. My subject matter is mostly landscapes or structures given that most of my painting is done in plain air. My studio work affords me more opportunity to experiment and do more layering.

My work generally falls into three genres: landscape, street photography and macro/still-life/abstract. At least for landscape, my work has evolved to where I am trying to get away from taking a photo depicting a scene and be more focused on creating a sense of space and time.

My alcohol ink paintings could be described as intuitive in approach and abstract in design. In what I call ‘first pour’, these vibrant inks move across the paper manipulated by air and intermingle in unexpected ways as they quickly dry. The resulting unique abstract designs influence further layering, sometimes incorporating realistic elements.

My mother was an oil painter so I was around painting and probably learned a little bit from her but not on a formal basis. I became interested in black and white photography and watercolor painting, exhibiting work at numerous venues in the greater New York/Hudson Valley area.

When making a portrait mask, I find the face itself will inspire images. I often surround a face with leaves, flowers, birds, sometimes dragons​. I have collected beautiful, vintage lace over the years which makes wonderful texture and patterns to glaze, some with cupids, butterflies, or figures.

I draw my inspiration from my environment. My subject matter is usually based on local marshes and beach settings. It’s also important to notice the small things. Textures in nature, such as the structure of flowers and leaves.

I find my inspiration from being present and observing the world around me. I enjoy seeing people enjoy my art for their own reasons. No rhyme or reason to what people are drawn towards and I find that fascinating.

I’m a plein air artist. My passion is painting outdoors. I travel to plein air events throughout New England and Bermuda and exhibit my original oil and watercolor paintings. I do not sell reproductions.

I describe my artwork as mixed media collage and acrylic both on paper and canvas. I love to work on illustration board and very wet. I enjoy creating energy, movement and texture in my work. I mainly paint seascapes and abstracts.