| Somewhere along the way my desire to be an artist seems to have been encoded in my DNA. Sometimes dormant but always there.
I initially studied art at the U of M but their teaching veered off in a different direction than I was interested in. It may have not been an issue of the teaching but rather the fact that I am a much better self learner than I am a listener.
Years ago I took classes here and there from Richard Lack. His studio taught the traditional methods I was interested in but I felt was a bit dogmatic. I left when many of his students seemed to be preoccupied replicating 15th century religious works. Later I was, and am, fortunate to be able to study with Harvey Schroeder at his studio in Elk River. I also took workshops with Bonita Roberts and Lorenzo Chavez, both talented teachers and artists. Over time I have developed my own style and methods . The input and observations from other artists were, and are, invaluable though I would consider myself largely self taught.
In terms of subject matter I tend to be somewhat of a figurative/ landscape painter though that is subject to change based on my interests at the time. Most of my paintings are done in multiple layers utilizing translucent and transparent color. I am not at all a Pleine Air painter relying generally on taking photographs and developing the work in my studio. I draw quite a bit in a line based manner using typically pen, often some kind of ballpoint.
I spent most of my working career in the Industrial Distribution field. I was the general and IT manager for a prominent Minnesota distributor . It would have been nice to be an artist for most of my working career but I discovered that I liked eating and having a place to live. I quit painting and drawing for about fifteen years to pursue my interest in computers. Oddly, when I started painting and drawing again in 2003 I reemerged as a much better artist than when I stopped. I was not producing in one sense but on some level there was a process running it seems. Now at age 70 I am a full time artist. I work at home in what was our daughter's bedroom. She left long ago for the wilds of LA. The household hounds are in and out checking on what I'm doing . They are furry muses, supportive but non judgemental and my wife is generally my toughest critic. Working at home allows me to constantly view whatever I'm working on at the time and study and make mini changes til the work looks right.. not always sure that is a good thing. A painting I think is always a work-in-progress. In that respect art emulates life.
Going forward I have some ideas and thoughts about where to take my work but the internal landscape is always changing and the mental road winds from sometimes clarity to the foggy paths of 'I dunno'. Will see where it leads, surely it must be to somewhere. As Stan Lee said "Excelsior!" or maybe that was Spiderman or the Hulk. You know, cultural icons we can believe in. | 