Originally from the Chicago area, I earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture at the University of Illinois at Champaign. I also enjoyed a year of study and extensive travel in Europe via the school’s exchange program. These studies supplemented my artistic talents with perspective drawing and 3-dimensional design.
A year after graduation, while working in architecture, I moved west and lived in Portland, Oregon, The San Francisco East Bay and Boise, Idaho over the next 8 years, traveling all the while. The West gave me endless opportunities to explore inspiring landscapes, usually desolate, extreme and always visually exciting. I eventually left the practice of architecture and moved into the field of digital graphics and the internet before returning to the Chicago area.
About My Art
My early artwork was in a variety of media including airbrush and pencil. I moved into oil painting because it gave me a new opportunity to bring my ideas to life. Both my background in architecture and my travel experiences are strong influences in my work. My paintings often feature a creative vision of architecture or an altered natural environment. I like to combine recognizable structures, urban and natural, with surreal and fantastic elements.
