The Artist

I'm 39 and I am a full time artist. I have been a professional artist, represnted by fine are galleries for eight years.

Painting and Drawing are the main focus of my artwork. My influences range from Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven, to Rembrandt, Degas and The Impressionists, Egon Schiele and many others.

I am a founding member of The New 7 Painter's Society of Canada. This is a group of plein air painters, focusing our talents on the Canadian landscape. I am a member of The Oil Painters of America and The Leighton Centre.

I love to spend a lot of time outdoors. Whether it's painting in Oils, sketching, taking photographs, walking or hiking with my wife, Beth and our two children, Jackson and Isabelle (and of course, Riley the dog), I find it important to immerse myself in the geography of the subject. This is reflected in my work. In the studio I transfer the smaller outdoor sketches to larger canvas - a process I learned from one of my mentors, Tom Thomson. Like some of my predecessors, I am fascinated with light and colour and how it affects our world. This is what I paint.

I have participated in shows mainly in Western Canada. My artwork has found homes in both private and corporate collections across Canada and The United States, Europe and Japan.

I also hold the rank of Shodan (first degree Black Belt) in Aikido. I am a student at Calgary Aikikai where I train and teach. With the influence of Degas, I have produced some beautiful Aikido Classroom paintings.

Before I focused my efforts on my art, I was a Long Track Speed Skater. I was nationally and internationally ranked on a strong Canadian team. Initially, I tried to skate and paint. This proved to be extremely difficult. Not being able to successfully do both, I put painting on hold. However, during this time I spent a lot of my free time studying the work and plein aire techniques of John Stobart. He was a mentor to me then and also to this day. After narrowly missing the Olympics twice, I retired and moved on to my other passion, painting. Now I am striving to be the best Painter I can be. Skating taught me how to struggle and persevere, two qualities that are crucial to being a successful artist.