My Story

Graduating from the Cooper School of Art in 1974 with

a major in communication design, I began as an

apprentice and keyliner at Manning Studies, Inc. in

Cleveland, Ohio. This was followed by a short time as

an artist in the graphics department at Premier Industrial

Corporation. After being awarded a Special

Mention in Graphics in the 1980 Cleveland Museum

of Art, May Show, I shifted my concentration to my

family and work life. Most of my career was spent as

part-owner, designer, and production manager for

Sun Art Decals, Inc. in a suburb of Cleveland, screen

printing and digitally producing custom decals, mainly

for commercial vehicles. Throughout this time, I kept

working on my own art--drawing, painting,

and cartooning.

In the early 1970’s, I began a series of small graphic

journals of drawings and personal notations on art

and my role as an artist. Using a few fundamental

shapes, colors, and lines on a grid, the possible

combinations are endless and have resulted in the

continuing evolution of my work. After retiring from

the commercial world, I have returned full-time to the

studio and to projects I began nearly 50 years ago.

Reviewing journal entries, I begin basic sketches, based

on the structure of a variety of grids

broken down into three sections. As I see subtle tensions

develop among shape, line and sometimes

color, I then go with the flow. I continue to go back to

these journal entries, find something that interests me

and develop it into a finished graphic or painting.

My work is loosely based on the elements of land, sea,

and air. I arrange shapes and lines horizontally or

from front to back. I begin to rely on the shapes and the

negative space. Nearly every one of my drawings is

based on threes of circles, squares, and triangles,

sometimes in black and white, sometimes adding the

basic colors red, yellow, and blue. At times I

venture into secondary colors, or even shades

of all the above.

Working in series and systems, with a few limiting

parameters, I am amazed at the freedom I find.

An abstract approach to composition has been

of interest to me for as long as I can remember.