Lost, Reward, Found 2003

One of my favorite pieces! My intro to print class was a new perspective of creating the image. Thinking about the content of my work I found the obvious to be humorous. Push pins at college are everywhere, yet there was always someone who didn't have any for their final critique. I remember forgetting my box of push pins one day and found all that I needed on the ground and it hit me. What about the humor of an old western style poster with such concern about a minuscule valuable possession. I posted the three separate block prints, Lost, Reward, then Found around campus for three weeks. They kept getting taken down so, I kept making more. Still have the blocks they're printed from, might make some more!

Ink on Paper 8" x 12" each

Adding Machine 2003

Adding Machine is a self-portrait. Our assignment in a Still Life Painting class was to paint an object that represented ourselves. I came to class with nothing, not because I slacked off, (sometimes I was) but because I struggled to find anything. I asked my Professor if I could leave class to stop at a local Goodwill to see if they had anything. She wasn't amused. When I made it to the hard goods the adding machine was looking right at me. Price tag, $1.00. Numbers are always on my mind.

Oil on Canvas 18" x24"
sold

The Mixer 2003

Soon after Power Struggle, The Mixer became more of a metaphor about why we always seem to try to do things faster and easier. This old mixer was one of two random items left behind at an apartment that I moved into. I remember thinking how unusable it was and how obvious it was that they didn’t need it anymore. Forty bucks down the drain. Accompanied by the fork, a machine that takes a little longer to mix with but hasn’t broken down in centuries. The light bulb represents not such a brilliant idea.

Oil on Canvas 11" x 14"

The Mixer 2003

This was the second still life of The Mixer. I painted it in a dark storage closet in the classroom with the door just cracked a few inches. Mixing the colors in the dark and painting with very little light was new for me and I believed turned out surprisingly well.

Oil on Canvas 18" x 8"

Power Struggle 2002

Second semester freshman year I took a still life in oil painting course and loved it right off the bat. I learned a lot that semester, didn't know what the hell a diptych was until then! I'll never forget when my professor explained why there had to be a reason for the spacing between the two halves of the painting. In Power Struggle, I began to think about our use of electricity when using a little elbow grease can do the job just fine. The "missing" fork protecting the energy source is in the kitchen being used to stir cake mix while the egg beater sits hopelessly trying to reach the power with it's cord.

Oil on Board 48"x12"
Sold

My Grand Parent's Still Life 2001

This series of paintings were an assignment in my foundations painting class freshman year at MECA. My professor directed me to open up as an artist, explore the different ways to apply the paint. #3 was painted with a five foot long brush!

left to right, top to bottom-
#1 Oil on Canvas 18"x24" 400.
#2 Oil on Canvas 14"x20" 350.
#3 Oil on Canvas 22"x22" Sold
#4 Oil on Linen 18"x26" 375.
#5 Oil on Canvas 20"x16" 375.

Snow Fields 2001

This painting followed Portland, Maine. At the start of my college career I located a bin where the "unwanted" art supplies were dropped off. Several times I would find canvases or other surfaces to paint on. When I found this panel I realized it was the first panel I would ever paint on. The brush reacted differently in a nice way, the brush stokes came out long and smooth. Trying to cover previous marks with white paint, a snowy imagined field was created.

Oil on Panel 30"x40"
Sold

Downtown 2004

Though this painting was done a little later, (2004) I wanted to place it above Portland, Maine. Downtown took a year to paint and the piece came together when I remembered adding an airplane to the bottom of the Portland painting. I liked the thought of an airplane low in the sky ready for landing bringing visitors to an exciting location. Downtown is a reverse perspective cityscape where the foreground is further from the viewers eye and the background becomes the foreground.

Oil on Canvas 32"x36"
Sold

Portland, Maine 2001

This painting was a turning point. Working from just a city map and walking around Portland taking notes I imagined and visualized how the city appeared. It's not an exact representation of the city of Portland, yet my appreciation of an amazing city. This process allowed me to loosen up as a painter, I told myself, I'm not a camera.

Oil on Canvas 36"x32"
Sold

Lord Fishy Fishie's Aquarium Circus 2001

A friend of mine wanted me to capture his Beta fish, Lord Fishy Fishy in a painting. The elephant bookend behind the fish bowl was painted in first and when my friend saw the progress he commented, "that's an elephant?!" I told him to hang in there, it's not finished. When it was complete I realized that Lord Fishy Fishy appears to be shooting out of the elephants mouth like a circus cannon.

Oil on Canvas 16"x12"
Sold

Peak 2000

I worked on Peak while I was painting Autumn Path. I found the juxtaposition of thunderstorm clouds and the fall foliage to be a nice pairing. The painting fell onto a corner of a cement block creating a crack in the shape of a Moon. A little more paint and the Moon was born!

Oil on Canvas 36"x24"
Sold

Autumn Path 2000

I finally was able to set up a little painting area in the house I was sharing with five roommates and non stop guests. When I did, I was stumped on what to do. I let my imagination take flight and Autumn Path was the beginning of the imagined landscapes.

oil on canvas 16"x20"
Sold

Echo 1998

Echo is one of those paintings that always brings a smile to my face. The puppy's name is Echo and she was my roommate's new family member. One day I took her for a walk and along a stream bed I found a blank canvas. A mud blob on it became my paint and I finger painted a couple of lines that resembled Echo looking down at the ground. When we arrived home I noticed that a water stain was in the shape a piano suited for a young pup!

oil on canvas 9"x12"
N.F.S.

Lupines 1999

Lupines was a drawing for a painting that I never got a chance to do, so far anyway. This piece is the third or forth drawing in a sketch book that I purchased after a few years of not producing a lot of work. This drawing got me going again.

Colored Pencil 9"x12"
N.F.S.

Bob Marley Painting 1993

This painting was one a final project I did in High School. I remember enjoying the process of designing the layout of separate images, creating a font, and designing a boarder. It may be the last piece I designed outside the computer.

Acrylic on board 14"x18"
N.F.S.