Artist Bio
I was born in Monroe, Michigan and began painting and drawing at a very early age. No surprise there, all kids draw, but I never stopped!
Throughout my teens, I taught myself line quality and drawing by copying and imitating comic artists. Most of you know very well the art of Frank Frazetta, Bernie Wrightson, Jose Gonzalez (Vampirella), and the entire stable of artists at Warren. I couldn't wait to scrape up the couple of bucks every month to go grab the latest Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella.
By the time I entered Monroe County Community College on an art scholarshipin 1980, I had started to focus on portraits, wildlife , and general art technique. I was also taught the best lesson of all-I HAD TO WORK! Thanks to Gary Wilson and Ted Vassar, I slowly began to round out and discover my own technique, which I still do today.
|
 |
| Ted Vassar was a wildlife artist at the time, and, being influenced by him, I began painting wildlife and doing many shows and competitions. I had works appearing in many publications including Monroe Magazine, Michigan Out-of-Doors,Wyoming Wildlife, and Wildlife art News.
In 1987, I recieved a commendation from the State of Michigan for artistic achievement. I competed in the Michigan Wildlife Artist of the Year Competition and placed in the top five in 1988 and 1989. I also placed top five in the Wyoming Conservation Stamp Competition in 1991, when my work went on traveling exhibit throughout the state'smuseums. I was the featured artist at several gallery shows and exhibited works at many wildlife art festivals, including the Northern Wildlife Art Expo. I had several one-man shows, including Central Wldlife Gallery in Toledo. Ohio, and at the Monroe College. I eventually started producing Limited-Edition prints of a good half dozen or so of these images and ammassed quite a following. Thank you to those people!
Despite all the busy activity in the wildlife field, I still had an attatchment to the horror genre. I continued to draw Frankenstein, Dracula, and assorted zombies. This type of work is at the opposite end of the spectrum from wildlife, but most artists do a variety of subjects.
In 1993, when the film Bram Stoker's Dracula was released, I was inspired enough by the imagery to paint Gary Oldman as the Count. In a way, this was a new direction to take my work, but was also a return to the kind of art that I really enjoyed. I liked the painting well enough to have it licensed through Sony Merchandising and had it printed as a Limited-Edition. Because of my ventures into the horror art realm, I have had the opportunity to meet many of the horror film heroes that have inspired me in my youth. Some of these people, such as Tom Savini, Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman, Ted Nugent, and the band Kiss now own some of my work!
Learning the mechanics of the airbrush has taken me into the world of nudes and pin ups. The airbrush lends itself to this genre, and I have no shortage of work or inspiration in this arena. While I am currently working almost exclusively in the horror art, pin up, and fantasy field, I do a lot of architectural commission work . These projects make up the body of my current work. I really have a great time meeting and working with other artists, models, and photographers. |
