You were the first oil painter here at 360 Xochi Quetzal. Give us some background about your development as an artist, and your influences.
Making art is something that I have come to later in life. Despite having a very successful business career, I found myself feeling miserable in my 40’s. With some professional help, I uncovered the fact that I had been repressing an interest in the creative arts. Then, in an introductory drawing class, I also discovered that I might actually have some artistic talent. I began taking classes, more and more over time, which eventually led me to graduate art school, where I focused on oil painting. Since graduating in 2007, I have been working to develop my voice as an artist and find what place I want to occupy in the art world. In this exploration, I have produced two very different series of works – one of complex narratives aimed at the collector market using realism,the figure and supporting iconography; and the other aimed at the decorator market creating unconventional, modern interpretations of a conventional, traditional subject: the still life.
My influences for these two lines of work have been very different. All the artists whose work I admire have strong technical skills in common. For the figurative work, I have studied both modern and classical masters. Modern favorites include Vincent Desiderio, Odd Nerdrum, JulioLarraz, Edward Hopper, Komar and Melamid, and Neo Rauch. Among the classical masters, my favorites are Reubens, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, and Caravaggio – I especially love the Baroque era for the depiction of drama and intensity.
For inspiration in my contemporary still life inventions, I must first genuflect at the feet of Picasso. His innovations remain fresh and exciting all these years later, as do the creations of Stuart Davis, whose work has a deceptively simple elegance. I also try to channel the energy and fun embedded in the work of Elizabeth Murray. David Bates is another modern favorite as is Amy Sillman for her color choices. Actually, I am constantly coming across interesting work that affects how I want topaint.The latest artist whose work I have embraced for instruction is an accomplished Mexican painter based in San Miguel de Allende named Mariló Carral. She uses color brilliantly and her mark-making vernacular is very interesting.