Bio Information:

I spent my childhood on a farm, and did enough fieldwork that I believe I'm more sensitive than a lot of artists to topography, for example where the ground makes it difficult to maintain one's balance on a haywagon, and to the plants, such as the whitish cast in an otherwise green pasture as the orchard grass heads up to seed. “There ain't no flat farming field,” and the colors are always changing.

My mother was a painter. I took it up after breaking a hip and realizing that I needed to concentrate on activities that would not wear out the replacement joint. I took advantage of the drawing classes at the Beverley Street Studio School in Staunton, and work in oils, watercolor, drypoint engraving and welded sculpture. My choice between oils, watercolor, and drypoint often boils down to what's convenient at the time – do I have to travel, how much space do I have, and am I going to be arrested if I have combustible substances in my luggage?! Most of my metal sculpture starts with a found object, sometimes small, such as a big forged staple, a gate hinge, and a bent auger bit, or sometimes large, such as all of the used tin when a friend re-roofed his house. Cats to dragons, scarecrows to fantastical trees are the result. Another one of those lessons learned as a small boy is that it is fun to play with fire!

My work has been available for public viewing mostly at the Co-Art Gallery in Staunton, with the occasional show at a coffee shop, restaurant, or nursing home in the area. My sculptures have won awards at the Annual Bath County Art Show, my prints have been in invitational exhibits at the Washington, D.C., Printmaker's Gallery, and I was particularly pleased that one of the prints of a woman dressed in a turban, toured the country as part of a breast cancer awareness program. A number of my small oils that I painted in the spirit of a military officer (in the pre-photography era, trained to document his observations by drawing and painting), portrayed my ride on the fast train from London to Paris, and were displayed at the William King Regional Arts Center in Abingdon, Va in the fall of 2003 as part of a larger exhibit of Artists from the Beverley Street Studio School.

My day job is lawyering in Staunton; my other love is music, fiddle, flute, and upright bass. My favorite painting is always the next one, just as my favorite tune is usually the one I'm about to learn.