My interest in painting renewed itself when I moved to Canada in 1988. My first showings were in coffee houses, bars and restaurants. The shows went well enough for me to devote more and more professional time to my painting practice, even as I realized bars were not necessarily my best venue! I started showing in galleries and had my first solo show in 1998 at Secord Gallery in Halifax where I still have representation. I was mostly painting coastal scenes, but also made an occasional still life. In these images I was influenced by the color and subject matter of local folk art. I enjoyed the exaggeration, bright colors and easy accessibility of folk, yet wanted to include my own sense light and shadow which I didn't see in folk art. One of my images from this this period is "Coastal Arrangement", As I kept working, I began to paint full time by 2002 and started to include city images in my painting practice. I'm influenced by the American painter Edward Hopper in my city works in the sense that he was someone who opened up a whole genre of urban painting strongly influenced by light and shadow. I've had several solo shows of my original in Halifax and more recently at The courthouse gallery in Ellsworth, Maine.

Through painting, I attempt to create a portrait revealing the landscape and coastlines of the Maritimes, but one that is not simply objectively realist. I infuse my work with my unique interpretation of light, color and composition. I feel the elements of a scene are there for me to move around like props in a play. I direct my own painting this way, like a film director arranges props on set to create a workable camera angle. In my case, I’m moving trees, buildings, rocks and such until I find compositions that hold together to bring out the essence of the subject. If a building needs to be larger or smaller to satisfy a pictorial concern of mine, I simply adjust its’ scale and position to work in the painting, or I’m free to paint it out entirely if that feels best.

I look for motifs that reveal themselves through light, though sometimes it seems the motifs look for me! I am drawn (no pun intended) to our low-angled, northern light. Working with coastal realism gives me the opportunity to develop my compositional style based on simple, large geometric forms, gradated masses of color and my use of architectural elements to create strong verticals, horizontals and diagonals. Composition lends clear support to my unique expression of the Maritimes. Connecting all of my formal concerns in painting is my sense of color. I look towards a fresh, cohesive palette leaning towards moderately high chroma, however I strive for balance with a generous supply of neutral tones. I keep working the color until the painting feels right to me. I build up the oil paint film through a series of overlapping transparent glazes.

I have taken great care to get the best possible color match to my originals in my reproduction pieces. I have all my work professionally shot and color match the digital files to the originals. This can be a painstaking process, but is very worthwhile when the results are as clear and accurate as my reproductions are. Thank you for taking the time to read about my process and work.