First and foremost, I am a poet. I consider the paintbrush and the images laid upon canvas as an extension...perhaps an evolution...of the written word. Both are interdependent on each other - painting and poetry - to convey a message, tell a story, express a sentiment, or construct a saga.
Many years ago, I began painting, first with watercolors, then acrylics, and then in 1999, I stopped. I stopped because the woman I loved was an artist and it intimidated me to think I could paint anything of quality, while she was making art.
Almost 9 years later, I have picked up the brush, grabbed some acrylics and began a new adventure. With moral support from friends and family, I just simply started painting. The first piece I began and then completed, 'The Philogynist,' is based on a poem I had written that would be the first words of the novel of the same name. I am proud to say it has hung in January at the Upstate Artists Guild gallery on Lark Street (www.upstateartistsguild.org), as has a second piece, 'Urban Gethsemane.'
I have close to thirty pieces completed. Some I have done for people specifically, some I do for myself, and some are available if anyone has an interest.
Influences include both William Somerset Maugham and the subject of his novel, The Moon and Sixpence," who is based on Paul Gauguin. I am influenced by Picasso, Kubrick, the Beat Poets, women whose minds and bodies I have adored intimately and from afar. My art has been called primitive, and I embrace that.
Unschooled, instinctive, voracious and driven, I consider myself an American Primitive in the world of art. A barbarian. Passionate, poetic and at times pornographic in my thoughts and expression.
