Bio

EDUCATION

Drake University, B.F.A. major in Painting
George Washington University, M.F.A. in Painting

BIO

I was born in April 1973 and grew up in Indianola Iowa. (A small town; the population currently stands at around 14,000) I remember having an interest in art fairly early on in my childhood. My mother would take me to Museums and to see plays at the Des Moines Metro Opera. However, I was never very successful when trying to draw on my own. So growing up I mostly built things and played typical kids games in the yard with my neighborhood pals. My junior year of High School I took painting, ceramics and drawing. It was then I began to realize I wanted to study art.

I decided to enroll in a Liberal Arts college and not an Art School. Therefore, I did not need a portfolio to get accepted. My primary focus at Drake University was art; I took 4 solid years of drawing and three years of painting. In the summer of 1994 I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Painting.

After graduation I realized I wanted to teach and would need to go to graduate school. Before I did, I was fortunate to spend a part of that year living and working in Bath, England. In the fall of 1995 I began studying at George Washington University and received my Master in Painting three years later.

I currently teach painting at Georgetown University, drawing at George Washington University in Washington DC, and both painting and drawing at the Art League in Virginia.

My studio is located at the Arlington Art Center in Arlington Virginia. You can watch a video tour of my studio here.

INFLUENCES

Francis Bacon – Painter
Carravagio: 15th Century Painter
Gerhard Richter – Painter
Ron Mueck – Sculptor
Alison watt – Painter
Jenny Saville – Painter
Susan hauptman – Drawing
Lucian Freud – Painter
Jules Kirschenbaum – Painter
Willian Kentridge – Drawing/Animation
Richard Deacon – Sculptor
The Chapman Brothers – Sculpture
Matthew Barney – Film/installation/Sculptor
Tony Oursler - Video/installation/Sculptor