Art makes my heart palpitate. In fact, all things related to art do. old art, new art, the appreciation of art, questions about art, answers about art, events related to art, clouds that form art, waves that sculpt artistically through the water, flowers that beautifully splash color & laughter with the wind and just about anything else with any connection to art. art is good. That is something I know.
I’ve been an artist since birth. my mother happily tells the story of my first artwork...just after birth I was quick at work creating a finger painting on the bed sheet using placenta fluid. years later when Imastered speech, I named it “bright light, need milk”.
creativity always felt right. It started with doodling and coloring then moved quickly to sketching cartoons. At around age 10, I took my first art class. It was there that I realized that I may not think in a conventional fashion, especially when it comes to art. Since that time i have tried to avoid the typical in my work, sometimes tell an unconventional story and try to resist the usual.
The West Virginia University School of Creative Arts is where i was fortunate enough to have studied under Ben Freidman. He was the professor of one of my drawing classes. from him I did not as much learn to draw, but I learned to gather information and plan each new artwork. Ben would briefly lecture us in studio then take us to places like a flea market, graveyard, farm, arboretum, nursery, mall and just about any place outside of the norm. He would send us off with our sketch books and goals like "defining form" or "focusing on shadows or light source", but our method and way of gathering information was ours to find. He taught me that art is everywhere and that it can be created in any way.
Ben's work was a pointalist style that resembled expressionism when viewed from a distance. The calm and casual approach he took toward teaching art, helped me differentiate it from my other courses at the creative arts center and university as a whole. Each time i went to ben’s drawing class, I felt as though I was leaving the world of the norm and entering a limitless world of exploration, expression and deliverance. His teaching style is the model for my own art instruction.
Since that time I have been creating art and telling stories through fine art & graphic art as a means of income and livelihood. This makes me very happy.
In 2000, I moved to nyc and started showing my artwork. the attention I was given during the shows, along with the occasional income from sales, fed my desire to create and show new art.
In 2007, I began to curate & produce art shows in addition to showing and selling my own work. the positive energy and excitement of each artist in the show makes every moment spent worth while. the building up toward each event is an amazing process. finding the venue, cause and date for the art event...calling out to artists...selecting artists...communicating with artists...promoting the event...planning and organizing the details of the show...setting up & decorating...Show time... breakdown and followup. so beautiful. new friends made and positive experiences had every time. not to mention several thousand dollars raised for good causes through silent art auctions and fundraising.
In 2008 I started painting aliens. I cannot stop. It rivals my craving for coffee. The series is called, "Similar Alien".
I've been told my calling is teaching art. Instructing and encouraging artists to create has become a great source of happiness for me. I use my "Art is Good" creative workshops as a platform.
2011 was an amazing year for art. The puzzle project received an amazing amount of press and nearly doubled in size. There were over 200 Art is Good workshops this past year (That = a lot of Meaningful Art). Similar Alien paintings were being created daily in 2011, too.
Currently, I am growing a group art installation called "The Puzzle Art Project". It is powerful and I am driven to make it a world-wide installation.So that is my artful life. Making art, teaching art, curating & promoting art shows & creating graphic art.
Life is good. Art is good.
