All my art grows out of my journals in some way. Grounded in direct observation, especially of the natural world, my art is pieced together from smaller units, much the way a journal is pieced together over time.

In this work I use images of a frozen and haunted landscape as a metaphor to investigate the relationship between longing and memory. Figures inhabit the landscapes in the form of ghosts, spirits, birds, reincarnated souls and zombies. I question why we remember the things we do and what memory leaves out. The memories that do stay with us and keep returning, like the ghost or zombie, have a tangible presence and absence at the same time. Both are caught in between two states of being: here but not here, gone but not quite.

Forms represent the organization of ideas. Ideas that hold shapes and transfer meaning from what we see to how we think. I'm interested in found form, what has composition without a plan. The intent of the physical world is not organization but recomposition. Painting is an immediate artform and the results are apparent. It can be used to trigger unintended, but no less interesting results. What I'm searching for are the forms born from apparent results without interpretation. I'm looking at trees. I'm looking at the geological landscape.

I am a criminal defense attorney and artist living and working in Kansas City, Missouri. These paintings are from a series titled, "The Kingdom of God is Within You". They deal with spirituality and intimacy in public spaces. I do these while I'm drinking beer late at night when everyone else is sleeping.

Birds
Bluetooth
Books
Connect Four
Costco
Costumes
Dogs
Drugs
ESP
Exercise Apparel
Genetic Engineering
Geometry
Hairdos
Hedonism
Ice Cream
Joni Mitchell
Judaism
Mythology
OCD
On Demand
People
Prince
Radio Shack
Scale
Science Fiction
Synthesizers
Underwear
The Upper East Side

Ten: React to as many visual stimuli as possible React to those stimuli in the most appropriate way possible Images are independent of ownership Relics from the past can serve as ghosts for the future Move towards concept- not from it Aesthetic choice dictates intellectual directions Elaborate on the graphic and narrative possibilities inherent in the photographic image Exploit mechanical exactness/ exploit natural inexactness- mix for psychological implications

My work describes perceived human conditions through the observation and experience of Nature. A romantic ideal has always lingered in my mind about the outdoors: hiking, camping, exploring the rural landscape. I find beauty within these activities, both psychological and physical, and make an effort to partake in them as often as possible. I feel particularly drawn to the wilderness because my urban upbringing instilled in me a very Western take on Nature-that happiness can be sought by escaping the daily routine.

Relaxing on a lake on a sunny eighty-five degree afternoon in late July, personal snapshots from these weekends are transformed into paintings of friends and family. An environment is created in which we were all a part, moments at a time. These images become a semi-voyeuristic spectacle of a generation indulging in its own leisure activities.

These works are meditations on the sublime. The idea of the sublime describes man's experience of nature as a force that is beautiful and yet overwhelming. Today our relationship to nature has changed. The sublime now is reserved for man and man-made things. Technology, the globalization and other aspects of contemporary culture now inspire one to feel an overwhelming awe and fear.

Drawing on imagery from numerous historical references-tapestries, scenic wallpaper, and genre paintings from Western Europe-as well as scenes from contemporary American life, I create fantastical paintings and installations that explore the contradictions and complexities of human nature. I intentionally reuse images that, regardless of their original context, speak across time and space. The work reflects on cultural displacement and seeks to cut through the viewers' complacency by drawing the viewers in with a studied prettiness of luscious and decorative surfaces.