A rambling and somewhat vague Bio mostly lacking in
actual dates
I remember being fascinated by painting as young as 4, in Nursery School. It seemed very difficult to get the design and shapes and colors right. At age 7, I did an abstract design project for which I received a lot of praise. At home, I spent countless hours sketching large empty landscapes with mountains, rivers and highways, recollections of my travels with my family through the Mid- and Southwest. In school, I doodled mazes, one after the other, large, complicated and elaborate, foreshadowing my style of today.
My father taught Chemistry at the local college, and we luxuriated in the steady experience of Art and artists, music and plays. My early home was filled with books, music and artwork and my friends were all bright children of professors. We were tutored in French and German, for some reason, and forbidden to watch television. I used to sneak next door to watch Mighty Mouse with the Army Colonel's son that lived next door.
My beloved mother started me on the piano at age 4. I added the violin at age 9, then the guitar at 14. I was one of the unusual kids who loved to practice. Now I mostly listen to NPR, Bruce Becvar, swing dance music and salsa dance music. Someday I would like to live in Spain or Rio or Buenos Aires and go dancing every night.
I lived in England (Cambridge - Queen Elizabeth School - I wore the shorts, knee socks, blazer & sweater - even in the winter) with my family when I was 10 and we toured many of the great art museums in London and later in Paris. I had been reading the stories of King Arthur and his knights and the Art, the castles and cathedrals, the tumbledown ruins, the lifestyle and culture - it made a big impression on me.
I fell in love with poetry when I was 11 and began memorizing, reciting and then writing poetry. I was published more than a dozen times in my High School paper. I found Dylan Thomas to be particularly compelling but Carl Sandburg and many others moved me as well. Poetry and languages were my 'career' in High School. After reading 'Autobiography of a Yogi', by Paramahnsa Yogananda, I thought that language held the secret key to Truth. Now I believe that language molds our perceptions of Reality, whatever that actually is. Physicists say the universe - people included - is 90% dark matter and dark energy - stuff we can't see or touch but can only infer. How weird is that?! And then, when you study quantum mechanics, you realize that matter itself is 99% whizzing electrons and sub-atomic particles. It makes one wonder - Are we a wisp inside of a dream? Energy in motion?
I avidly studied Chinese art and history in college and was a Chinese linguist for the Air Force in the '70s. I love the way the body moves when doing Tai Chi and try to incorporate that cyclical powerful energy into my work. I think I may have been a Taoist monk in a previous life. I identify with the Taoist religion most strongly - Taoism is the conceptual and philosophical basis of my artwork. I spent about 30 years exploring meditation and spirituality, then a psychic told me that I should focus on living in the here and now, rather than transcending this planet. I have had several out-of-body experiences that touched me deeply.
I have extensively studied chemistry, biology, mathematics and physics and love the natural patterns in rocks, skies and water. I spent many years being an avid, actually obsessed photographer. I have a large portfolio of abstract color photography that looks like magically colored fluid dynamics. I developed an incredible technique for photographing large flat soap films which have amazing colors dancing on the surface, visible when viewed in front of a black velvet background. I taught myself how to manipulate the colors on these soap films, making them last for 20-30 minutes and more.
I started painting when I was 14, spending the money I made mowing lawns on paints and canvas. I put it aside for a time, while I pursued my photography interests, then came back to it in the 90's when I did several hundred paintings in a 4 years period. I developed a technique where I did an abstract painting on paper, then scored and cut the paper into popped-out geometric shapes. Some amazing work. I hope to do some on metal soon. I've also done a lot of pour paintings, inspired by Paul Jenkins and Richard Zucco, which still delight and amaze me.
I have been influenced by every artist I've seen. When I was 14, my uncle gave me a book of Picasso images. I cut out every page and taped them up on my wall to study daily. He thought I was desecrating an art book, but I just wanted to live with Art. When I lived in Kansas City, I would go to the Nelson Atkins Art Gallery almost every weekend, moving slowly from room to room memorizing everything I saw. I can't live without Art. When I was young I was too poor to afford it, so I decided to make my own. It's important for the culture that people are doing Art and living with Art. Doing is important. The doing is what changes people. But beauty and visual excitement lift the spirit and inspire the heart, whether you or someone else has actually done the creating.
Art is really about creating magic. I need magic in my life. I decided to pursue a career as an artist because I admired what artists did most of all. At a certain point in my life, I realized I was doing artwork that was unique and admirable as well. That's when I threw myself into it full-time, do or die.
I have never thought of myself as being particularly talented creatively. When I have taken aptitude tests, I have generally scored low on the creative part. But I have the most important qualities for success as an artist - passion, desire, commitment, persistence and a capacity for incredibly hard work. I have also slowly developed excellent problem-solving abilities. I slowly came to realize that I have a very original mind. Very unique ideas come to me when I am in a trance state and properly rested and open to the Universe. I go out of my way to not copy other people. I am constantly seeking to do what hasn't been done before. Part of my 'job' is to be unique.
Mainly, in life, you have to find out what you were born to do, and then do it with passion and determination. You must be like an arrow flying towards your target. That is the way of Dharma. If you want it enough, and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to prove your sincerity, the Universe will support your efforts.