Biographical Summary

I'm a lawyer who spent most of his career working for law firms and corporations in Europe. I found the practice of law intellectually stimulating and enjoyable on many levels; but I had always wanted to devote at least part of my life to the pursuit of other interests, one of which was art. Consequently, I retired at the age of 50 and began taking courses at the Watkins College of Art, Design & Film in Nashville, TN (A.F.A., 1996). After three years, I moved to New York City to continue my studies at the National Academy School of Fine Arts (Certificate in Painting, 1999). While at the National Academy, I acted as monitor for Reeve Schley III, David Dewey, Frederick Brosen, Sigmund Abeles, Tony Martino, Philip Sherrod, Alfred Leslie, Bernard Olshan, Richard Haas, Chaim and Dorothy Koppelman, and others. During this period, I also took various courses and workshops at other New York art schools, including the Art Students League of New York, the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting & Sculpture, and the Graduate School of Figurative Art.

Medicine, like art, was another interest of long-standing. When my aging parents began to suffer serious health problems, I changed directions again and enrolled in the "grad entry" nursing program at Ohio State University (M.S., 2006). I became certified as an Adult Nurse Practitioner and pursued a career in nursing until retiring a second time, shortly before the age of 65.

Following this second retirement, art again became my primary focus. Given my previous training, I did not feel the need for another organized program of formal instruction, but preferred simply to work on my own. However, I did take occasional painting courses from Kamilla Talbot and John Goodrich at the National Academy, as well as an extremely useful website design course taught by Nadia Martinez, through which I learned how to build and maintain this website. Visiting unfamiliar places, especially foreign countries, has always stimulated my imagination; and being retired meant I was free to remain away for more than a few weeks at a time. So I began to travel extensively, both domestically and overseas, and to make my interest in painting an integral part of these trips. Painting materials now rank up there with a toothbrush as essential items of travel gear; and, wherever I am and whatever I'm doing, part of my awareness is continuously surveying the environment for potential painting motifs. Trips abroad have also given me the chance to get to know painters from other countries whose work I admire and to learn about both their general approaches to image-making and the specific techniques they employ to realize their objectives. I have taken workshops or private lessons for this purpose from painters in England, France, Italy, Ireland, and Mexico. Andrew Pitt, Winston Oh and John Hoar are a few of the memorable individuals I have come to know in this fashion. As the images displayed on this site demonstrate, travel has had a major influence on my choice of subject matter. The people I've encountered in the course of my travels and the land- and city-scapes that make up their surroundings have been major sources of inspiration. In addition, my interest in combining painting and travel is, in large part, responsible for the fact that watercolor has grown to become my preferred means of expression. No other medium dries as quickly or cleans up as easily; and the required materials are by far the lightest and most portable.

When not painting or traveling, I enjoy playing classical and jazz piano, as well as crafting my own piano arrangements of songs from the "Great American Songbook." I have two grown children and share my life with a lovely lady named Judy.