Art is a vehicle and making art is a way of learning. I am a native Texan, born in Corpus Christi and raised in Odessa. I studied art at Odessa College and from there I earned a B.F.A. and M.F.A. from The University of Texas at Austin. After teaching art and art history in Texas public schools for 26 years, I decided to push paint around for my own endeavors.

I paint mostly with oil on canvas and sometimes acrylics. It’s always about the conceiving of the image and then the work on the way to the result. To that end, it’s about the composition and color. It’s about the transfer of information from the eye to the brain and to the canvas. And it’s about the application of paint. Between the image and the end result, I work and I learn. Each work may or may not be a part of a series. I work with an idea that interests me and toward an image that interests me. Recently, I paint images of Texas landscapes and the occasional foray into New Mexico and Colorado. The pictures I create are a search for an essence and a timelessness which exists within the Southwest. I endeavor to achieve images that are at least representative and hopefully symbolic or iconic of Texas especially. It is as if I would freeze the image if I could. I am aiming for a classicism of Texas images while avoiding nostalgia. Texas vegetation, such as prickly pear cactus, provides opportunities for close up compositions while the mountains of West Texas stand as monuments of strength, individuality and majesty.