Bio

Inspired by nature, I create imaginary landscape paintings and other abstract works with textural encaustic surfaces with beeswax, oil and gold leaf. Transparent and opaque layers emphasize subtle contrasting elements with compositional highlights carved into many of the works.

I am intrigued by natural processes: how a mushroom can grow on a tree, how water evaporates from a pool of pigment, how bees can secrete wax from their glands to use as a building material. I feel that the genuine interest in art lies within the interaction of human touch and the elements of the earth.

I have also created site-specific installations that transform environments and excite the senses such as Mudra II at the Wignall Museum/Gallery at Chaffey College or Eye Candy, 1600 Tiny Paintings at Arts on 5th for the Arts Council for San Bernardino County.

Having worked collaboratively with the Institute of Cultural Inquiry on such projects as Artist Edition: Searching for Sebald, The AIDS Chronicles, and The Manual of Lost Ideas; my work is in the process of being accepted into the archives at the Getty Research Institute.

I was born in Spokane, Washington, and split time between Spokane and Southern California as a kid. In 1993, I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts from Eastern Washington University, then moved to California to attend the Claremont Graduate University to earn my Master of Fine Arts in 1995. My professors at the graduate school were Roland Reiss, Michael Brewster, and Connie Zehr. I currently teach at Los Angeles Mission College in Sylmar, CA.