In 1965 I was 17 years old and I wanted to be an artist. Willem de Kooning was my art hero but, for various reasons I didn’t. Later, I became an engineer and ultimately president of National Geographic’s mapping business.

 

40 years later in 2004, I retired to become a full-time artist. I could afford to define success in my way but it took a few years to find my voice – my soul’s work.

 

My work focuses on victims, witnesses and survivors of opioid/substance use and the stigma which inhibits prevention, diagnosis, treatment and recovery. 

 

Exhibited internationally at universities, art centers, museums and galleries, I have participated in more than 100 exhibits including 25 one-person exhibitions and have been recognized several times including seven best of show awards. I am a frequent speaker and lecturer and my work has been featured and reviewed in local, national and international media. 

 

I grew up in Burlington, Wisconsin. My wife Mary Kay and I live in Boulder Colorado. Previously we lived in Winter Park Colorado, St. John US Virgin Islands and several other places. 

 

As to my future, I certainly have some exhibition ideas. I would love to have a show of my large self-portraits and of course I am always interested in showing my work that relates to opioids and substance use disorder. 

 

But as far as new production, for me the future is digital. I consider myself a traditional artist now incorporating technology into my practice. I still paint acrylic on canvas but, I believe that my hybrid digital painting is a way to take my art to a new level and to more effectively get my message out to those that matter most. 

 

These digital hybrids are repurposed high-resolution images of my own large-scale unfinished paintings, in-process work, and original digital drawings which I re-process with various digital tools. I add a range of new elements and enhancements which may include various marks, masks, graphic overlays, animation and sound to the base image which I then reproduce as an individual image or video. 

 

Now I can better reach more than 300,000 people that follow me on social media and I can easily send digital images and videos to collaborators for both on-line and physical exhibitions.