ABOUT THE ARTIST •
I was born along the Great Salt lake. I was raised in Seattle. I was educated along the Green River. I have written a novel in Paris. I have slept in a cemetary in Berlin. I got married to a Danish girl in Las Vegas. I have lived in Dublin. I now live in Copenhagen. I like to read good science fiction. I like to write bad poetry. I like to paint messy pictures.
I really don't like Mayonnaise.
ABOUT THE WORK •
Inspired by the sometimes-strange environment of the personal mind and the landscapes built by the illusive understanding of life itself, my paintings explore the relationship between the subconscious and the conscious mind. Rather than documenting an idea or opinion, they appeal to the viewer to make their own assumptions. Each painting has an intention, but is also begging the viewer to invent and define it.
Stylistically, I find myself largely drawn to the works of the Neo Expressionist artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Georg Baselitz, where there was a symbiosis between social commentary and vivid emotional expression, characterized by bright and banal colours overlaid with bold line work.
In my work, I paint subconscious emotion in dramatic rolled on colours, and then trap it behind a single line of continuous conscious thought, resulting in an idea in which the underlines levels are defined, but do not always conform, with the surface.
MADE •
September • 4 • 1976
Sandy • Utah
EDUCATED •
1995 - 1998
Green River Community College
- I was interveiwed for a website called Deviantart a few days ago, you can go to the link here, or you can read it below.
A. My father was an artist and sign-maker, so I guess I’ve always had art in the blood, but I didn’t start think about painting as a serious move until about 5 years ago. Prior to that I was more focused on writing and girls.
Q. At what point did you recognize that you're an artist? Did you have an "aha!" moment or was it a gradual experience?
A. It was really a little of both. I mean I knew that I could paint and draw, but as I said earlier, for a long time before I got serious as a painter, I was more focus on writing. What made me really look into the real abyss of my talent was a man name Victor that I met in Paris. In 2003 I was living in an English bookstore across from Notre Dame, while writing a novel (which has never, nor probably will never be, published). There were about 10 of us staying in this bookstore, all writers, poets, and artists. Victor was this man that would go out into the streets of Paris everyday, rain or shine, and paint. Something about him moved me, and when I came back to the states after finishing my novel, I threw myself at painting with a renewed fervor.
Q. What experiences in your life have contributed the most to being an artist?
A. I can’t really say that it has been a set of experiences that has led my to become an artist. Predestination, maybe. But, more likely just a complete lack of common sense. The truth is that being an artist is about 10% success and 90% suffering, rejection, and judgment. So I suppose you can chalk me up with the thousands of those before me that put themselves on the stage of life to be heckled and booed, only to hope for a few single “Yeh’s!”
Q. What sort of things did you need to overcome to hold onto your passion?
A. Truthfully. Procrastination. And I’m still trying to sort that one out, but I figure I get to it sometime later.
Q. What is your process like? Do concepts play a strong part, or does the creating come first?
A. The process in which I paint has changed quite a lot over the years, along with the evolution of my style. At first when I was painting more contemporary portraits and nudes, I planned things out more. But now, I let the paint be the master. I paint flat on the ground, so I can be “in” the painting, sometimes standing on it. I love the freedom of choosing color and shape as I go along, and only at the end conforming it behind a solitary line.
Q. What media do you work with, and why?
A. I have used many in the past. I am always changing, because I get a bit bored with one thing. Currently I am using industrial house paint, because I can buy it in buckets, and it is a good consistency for painting flat.
Q. What contemporary artists and old school artists have influenced your work and thinking?
A. Pollock and Basquiat. For more reasons than I have words for.
Q. What was some of the best advice you've received in growing as an artist? And what would you say your best advice is?
A. You know, there were probably a lot of great pieces of advice that I missed when I was younger, simply because I was a bit of an arrogant bastard. I learned a lot of my lessons by fucking up. But my best advice is, do not listen to the art scene. It's full of wankers. The fact of the matter is, there are artists out there who make art and sell hundreds of pieces online but will never even get looked by galleries, and there are artists out there exhibiting in major museums that don’t even know what the Internet is. Art is everywhere now, and so accessible, that one should never assume that the judgment of the few is the same as the opinion of the masses. Just create, and someone will like it. It’s pure mathematics.
Q. I've noticed that you've traveled a lot in your life. Has this been the strongest impact on your work, and if so, how?
A. It has been both a blessing and a curse. I have been able to more easily show in many countries, but on the negative, I had to start all over when I moved from Seattle to Dublin, and then again when I moved to Copenhagen. Art, as a trade, is a fickle mistress in every country, and it can be real pain in the ass trying to get back in her bed. But it’s been worth it when I have.
Q. Your work is quite expressive. How do you expect your viewers to read it?
A. I honestly really don’t expect anything. I encourage a freedom of thought with my paintings. To me, a painting must be mysterious, and if subject matter is too obvious, then it will get boring. I want people to look at my work, and keep seeing and feeling new things, because I find that the limitless human imagination is far more powerful than paint on fabric can ever be.
Q. Which do you feel is your most successful piece, and why?
A. My latest one, of course, because to me each piece somewhat like a love affair. There are ups and downs, but when I come out on the end I feel both bliss and sadness. There is a good few months after each painting before I want to let it go.
Q. You've got experience with galleries and shows. What would you say to someone who is just getting started or is looking for gallery experience?
A. Research. Research. Research. Look into the galleries that you want to exhibit in. Your only going to make yourself look like an ass if you send your portfolio to a gallery that only shows works of 19th century French Impressionism. Also, when writing or visiting a gallery, try to comment about something positive in the work they have shown, or are showing. If you can’t show any interest in their work, how can you expect them to take notice of yours? Also, don’t be afraid to start small. Coffee shops and Restaurants have a lot of foot traffic.
- I have been searching for a studio space to work in here in Copenhagen for quite a while now. I think that both Tilde and I are getting a little weary of the house smelling like turpentine for days on end. Yesterday I made a call to a friend of a friend, a man name Adam Hansel, a fellow Yank like myself, that lives here in Copenhagen. He was kind enough to point me in the right direction to what might pan out to be some great spaces. In the process I got a look at his own work and was blown away. Take a look at his website www.deadvoltage.com, there is his work there, as well as some merch that you can purchase. I'll be keeping in contact with Adam and I'll post whatever he's doing here as well.
- Recently I found this link to a collection of DVDs that you can purchase that cover the drawing fo anatomy. I watched the first introductory video, and decided right there to purchase it. Its called the Structure of Man. There is about 43 hours of anatomy drawing courses on 5 DVDs, and it only rund $45 (which if you live outside of the states, amounts to sweet fuck all, what with the dollar dropping so dramatically). Here is a little about the course taken from the website:
My journey in Art began early and took a drastic curve at the “Rippowam High School” in Stamford Connecticut, where students went through a very experimental curriculum named the ‘cluster’ program. This is where I met my greatest Art teacher; Mr. Blasio who changed my understanding of Art and the power of Thinking. I went on to continue my studies at the “School of Visual Arts” in New York City and also at the “Connecticut Institute of Art”. Today I love to use new ways in helping Art students rapidly understand how to draw the Human Figure from your mind using very experimental approaches in Artistic Thinking, based on the ideas of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo that is ‘The Structure of Man’."
