BIOGRAPHY

Born | Detroit Michigan | 1960

Lived In Santa Fe New Mexico | 1965 - 2003

Graduated | Santa Fe High School | 1978

BA Architecture | University of New Mexico | 1986

Masters of Architecture | University of New Mexico | 1993

Lived in Cape Town South Africa | 2005 - 2013

Lives in Portland Oregon

MY JOURNEY

As a young adult I was an active mountaineer, member of a mountain search and rescue team and martial artist. Through these activities I cultivated a passion for the wilderness, humanitarian ethics and perseverance. Craving solitude and the stark beauty of the wilderness, I climbed mountains in the Rockies of New Mexico and Colorado, the Cordillera Blanca range of Peru, and volcanoes in the Cascades, Mexico and Ecuador. From this I learned to read the land and respect nature. 

My travels to climb mountains segued into a passion for architecture and other cultures. I ventured to Australia, New Zealand, Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, Mexico, South America, India, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. I paid pilgrimage to Chaco Canyon, Jorn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House, Chichen Itza, Machu Picchu, Sir Christopher Wren’s St Paul's Cathedral, Richard Rodger’s Lloyd’s of London, Ranakpur Jain Temple and Angkor Wat. The pervading spirit of each of these places, gave me a respect for other cultures and our diversity.

I have worked as a designer in architecture and a tradesman in construction, most influentially with Architect Edward Mazria FAIA in Santa Fe New Mexico and as an associate for ACG Architects & Development Planners in Cape Town South Africa. I learned about the intrinsic nature of materials through hands-on experiences, benefits of sustainable design on architecture and our social responsibility as architects.

I continue to be fascinated by how we make things, perceive time and move through space. I create art to tell imaginative stories and express my personal and our cultural ethoses.

PROCESS

I find the creative process compelling because it is teeming with uncertainty.  My photographs and drawings are deliberately abstract and illusive.  They typically depict the transformation or convergence between machinery and nature.  These compilations, layers and overlays of different media and imagery are intended to challenge the viewer’s perception. Art is a tool to unearth the essence of who we are, tap into the subconscious and challenge conventional wisdom. 

My drawings evolve through two distinct phases.  First, I scribe layers of varied line types to generate non objective and abstract marks.  As more layers are added, objects and patterns start to appear. As representational forms immerge, I begin pushing the imagery to express an inherent narrative.  I frequently dismiss traditional rules about proportion and perspective to preserve spontaneity and retain the potency of my findings.  Within this self-defined frame-work I explore themes of duality: human versus machine, fluid versus solid or light versus dark.

Throughout my life drawing has been a tool, a pleasure, a distraction and a means of creating sanctuary in my life. My meditative drawing state is akin to the Zen or martial arts state of mushin no shin, a Japanese term that describes the concept of “no mind” or “mind without mind”. In this state, one can act and react intuitively without hesitation or active thought. It is a gateway to an elevated state of consciousness. Art allows us to reconnect to the core of who we are and to communicate as sentient beings.