I paint with Pastels and Charcoal because they dry quickly and have wonderful texture and painterly qualities.
Although my Fine Art degree from Kent State University has certainly given me a good overview of various mediums, my interest in art history has affected me in more important ways.
I am inspired by Edward Hopper's intimate interior scenes and the energetic color and shapes by Stuart Davies. Or, the poetic and haunting beauty of a John Peto still-life with his "Pathos of the Discarded" themes.
Growing up in the shadow of the steel mills of Youngstown Ohio has had a profound effect on my subject matter. The demise of the steel industry in the "Rust Belt" and the resultant empty and/or abandoned industrial buildings became my "Pathos of the Discarded" and it is increasingly seeping into my subject matter as I pursue my art. I find beauty in scenes of solitude or things abandoned or cast off.
My goal is to find extraordinary elements of ordinary things.
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