About Me...

I am a West Michigan artist working in watercolor and egg tempera. I love the challenges of both media. It's an experience where the artist is never fully in control of the painting, much like life itself. Watercolor and egg tempera can be humbling, even for the most skilled painters. 

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When asked about egg tempera I explain that it's mankind's oldest media for painting. Paint for cave art was made by mixing red and yellow ochre pigments with eggs, then applied to the cave walls over 40,000 years ago. Egg tempera was the primary means of painting until oil paint was developed during the Renaissance. Today, some of us still use egg tempera to create paintings that we hang on the walls of our caves.

 

My professional career in art began as a 16 year-old sign painter for a local grocery store in Springfield, MA. Following high school I attended the Columbus College of Art and Design. Life was interrupted by the Vietnam War and my service in the Navy. Eventually I found my way into politics and ended up working in the Carter White House and US EPA. Following that brief career in politics, I combined art and politics to become a political cartoonist. My career began as a freelancer to the Washington Post Weekly Edition and ended as a self-syndicated cartoonist for nearly every paper in Michigan. In 2022 I deeded my collection of cartoons to the Michigan State Library Archives, where they will remain as part of the State's historical record.

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Since artists never retire, I returned to my first love of painting. Today I paint the people and places along the shoreline of Lake Michigan where I live with my wife Deana, our kids, grandchildren, and our lovable labradoodle.

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