**Park Bench (detail)**
Park Bench is a nostalgic piece about the common gathering places in our cities and towns. I intended this piece to feel warm and light, a sort of snapshot from a time in the last century. That said, although times and styles change, our public green spaces continue to provide places of recreation, congregation and play. The bird flying across the face of the canvas is intended to enhance and focus the overall light and whimsical feel of the piece, while the muted palate of the color scheme evokes a more constrained time.

When I was a child I was so introverted that I could hardly speak to others. I began drawing before I have memories of doing so, and through my artwork I found my voice. I nearly exclusively drew images of people, attempting repeatedly to get at what makes individuals unique, what defines them, and trying to work out how people see me. I constantly looked inward to find a sense of self that I could project to the world. It seemed to me that identity doesn’t just happen, it is something created by what compels you, by the experiences you have, or want to have, by what brings you happiness, but also by what you fear. Creating artwork, for me, is a way to put out into the world who I am, what I care about, what concerns me and what I love.

**Children’s Apothecary**
2017
50” x 48”
$650.00

**Children’s Apothecary (detail)**
With Children’s Apothecary I wanted to create a piece about how children would stock an apothecary, given the ability to put in whatever they chose. As a parent of two kids, I learned that glass beads, toy animals,and worry dolls can all be employed to make a child feel better. The children in the central image behind the apothecary are playing ring-around-the-rosy, the old traditional English rhyme that is actually about the black plague, and the overall structure of the piece is intended to mirror the red cross.

Through this immersive introspection I came to regard a sense of place and history as an important piece of that puzzle - if my accumulated personal histories created who I am now, how about the history of my family, or my community? When I travel I seek out the history of the places I go, how people came to belong there, how the history of the place helps shape the character of the people. Regional traditions and personal idiosyncrasies fascinate me. There are certain places in the world which seem to speak to me, and southern Louisiana in one such place. When I create artwork I feel a sort of compulsive rhythm in my body, a creative music that fills my soul and propels my artistic instinct - I rarely feel more alive than when I am in a true creative groove. I know of no place on earth where that rhythm is as close to the surface of life than New Orleans, and I return to that place for personal inspiration as much as I long to return to the city itself.

**Dance hall**
2020
63” x 44” x 9”

$1100.00

**Dance Hall (detail)**
My intention with Dance Hall is to create a warmly nostalgic piece about a time past, in the 20s and 30s, when jazz clubs where at the height of popularity as places to go to while away the evening with dance and music. Some of the future giants of jazz could be found at small neighborhood clubs and bars across the country,inventing and reinventing this uniquely American music nightly. The construction of this piece is intended to suggest a small club from the outside, with the two dancers painted on the shutters of the club, and the light beckoning people to come inside.

16 years ago my daughter was born, and then my son three years after that. The nature of my creative impulse evolved from primarily inward looking exploration to incorporate outward facing expression. I feel a need to offer something to the world through my artwork, and to show my kids that art can matter, that you can speak non-verbally in ways complex, thoughtful and sincere, a sort. of visual commentary on life. I want my work to tell an honest story. As importantly, I seek to capture a feeling in my work that goes beyond a particular narrative, to use the combinations of imagery, lighting and construction to hopefully give the viewer a sense of how I feel about the work, about the world, about life. Joy and wonder surround me daily, and being able to recognize and embrace that gives me the ability to express myself, to be able to be who I want to be, to stand out in a crowd

**Neighborhood**
2017
86” x 32” x 22”
$1650.00
Neighborhood is about the communities that we create, and how those communities are built of individuals, each with their own story and identity. This piece is intended to be seen from two sides - from the outside looking in, where the glass and light obscure the details of the individuals, and from the inside out, where the world is seen through a kaleidoscope of individuality. Both sides are framed with personal stories from my childhood, the stories that shaped who I’ve become.

The Parade Series is my homage to iconic community events - the small neighborhood parades of memory, the big holiday parades of tradition, the jazz funeral parades in New Orleans. Many years ago I attended Mardi Gras, and completely fell in love with the spectacle of the big parades, as well as the smaller neighborhood events, which bring neighborhoods and communities together all over the city. Umbrellas shade the five figures throughout the gallery, as a nod to a Mardi Gras tradition, but also symbolic of how these parades can offer escape from our everyday lives, and give respite from the worry, strife and turmoil of the world around.
**Parade - Boy 2018 88” x 30” x 30” $1000.00**
**Parade - Dancer #1 2018 88” x 30” x 30” $1000.00**
**Parade - Dancer #2 2018 88” x 30” x 30” $1000.00**
**Parade - Dancer #3 2018 88” x 30” x 30” $1000.00**
**Parade - Flambeaux Carrier 2018 88” x 30” x 30” $1000.00**
**Parade - Parade Leader 2018 88” x 30” x 30” $1000.00**
**Parade - The Mayor 2018 88” x 30” x 30” $1000.00**
**Parade - Trumpet Player 2018 88” x 30” x 30” $1000.00**

**Lost (detail)**
Lost is about a time, not long ago, when my seven year old son developed a manic fear of being lost in public. I, of course, reassured him continually that this could never happen, but as a father I could not help but ingest some of that fear, and consider the terrible possibility of it ever coming to pass, and this piece is about that fear. The empty chairs centered in each canvas represent a missing child, and the light partially hidden behind each canvas symbolizes a life obscured by loss. The windows allow the viewer to look in, as when wandering a neighborhood and looking into a house that has been visited by tragedy.

ARTIST BIO: A love of history and a sense of place, the joy of family, the intrigue of music and a sense of social awareness all combine and recombine as central threads in my artwork. These people and things, ideas and affections, build and overlap, creating personal layers within us that define who we are. There is an essence and mystery of life that is defined by the interplay of these layers, and the artistic process is a way for me to give form to those unseen rhythms and intriguing themes that I find compelling. My creative process embraces this idea, as a way to give form to this complexity that lies under our common skin, through the use of artistic layering, targeted lighting and physical depth in each piece. My goal when creating artwork is to present something that is immediately engaging, consistently compelling, and leaves a lasting impression beyond the initial encounter, and I feel that this mixed media approach gives me the best set of tools to achieve this end. Furthermore, each of my pieces tells a story, or has a central theme, and this use of a variety of elements and perspectives gives focus to the artistic expression of each piece. I believe that art should bring a sense of wonder and delight, and reflect the joy of creation experienced by the artist. I also feel that painting and sculpture are, along with the creative vision, something to be built, and the joy of that constructive process is as important to me as realizing a coherent, complex and compelling artistic expression. I love what I do, and I hope this love is clearly present to everybody who views my artwork. A graduate of Washington State University, with a BFA focused on sculpture, printmaking and art history, I switched gears and spent the first part of my creative life in the Seattle area as a painter. Working part-time to gain a toe-hold in the artistic community there, I was able to have a few exhibits, including the good fortune to show with the West Seattle Artist Warehouse in the mid-90s. Nearly 20 years ago I moved to Spokane, married, got a new job and a couple of kids, and largely quit working as an artist. About 8 years ago I shifted gears to be a stay-at-home dad and and full-time mixed-media artist, reembracing my sculptural roots to compliment my painted imagery. The last few years have been by far the most fruitful of my career, showing my work regionally in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana, including solo exhibits in Seattle, Spokane, Yakima, Missoula, Hood River and Lynden. I currently reside in Spokane with my wife, two kids, two dogs, four cats and one rabbit.

Stand Out in a Crowd

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Make.Shift Art Space