Artist’s Statement

Sculpture
My sculptures are primarily figurative. Some are recognizably drawn from human anatomy while others are more abstract and conceptual. Presently, I am working directly from the figure or photographs of the figure and exploring exaggeration of proportions to present the figure in a less academic way.

Inspiration for my pieces are sculptors such as Arneson, Rodin, and Matisse. The irony of Arneson’s self portraits, the directness and gusto of Rodin’s sculptures, and the transformation of a single subject in a series of some of Matisse’s bronzes all have a great appeal. Mostly, I just enjoy working in clay.

Painting
As a painter. I revel in the sheer joy of applying paint, typically acrylics. Like sculpture, my focus is primarily figurative. References are sketches, photographs, or occasionally, live models.

I like to paint family, friends and art associates who have some article of interest with them or are in a familiar environment such as a garden. There might be more than one person and perhaps a favorite animal included. Some influences are Lucian Freud, Alice Neel, Nathan Oliveira, Richard Diebenkorn, Thomas Eakins and Rembrandt.