.As a child I had a very imaginative mind. A master at playing pretend because of this need to compose a make believe world. My record player, smurf figurines and even designed an army of shoelace dolls I called string people. (Being biologically male I wasn't allowed real dolls so had to be inventive). I started becoming transfixed to tv and images of strong female leads and enjoyed shows like Dance Fever and Solid Gold. I imagined a safe world where I was a star and therefore accepted and adored. My real world was far from it being the youngest child of 7 to a father who was a former Franciscan Monk. The 70s were not that easy but I had my safety net of music and drawing and dolls of string to give me purpose.
When I started art school (FIT) in 1992 I was unclear the directions I would be going. My major was fine arts but also had an opportunity to dabble in other avenues such as jewelry, fashion and photography. I loved all of it especially photography. Being in control of what I wanted to shoot and then manipulate the image in the dark room felt empowering. It was the era of Supermodels and fashion was exciting, and going into NYC to attend this school was my first stop to therapy. I felt unbreakable that my fantasy and real world were colliding. I was with other creatives at an exciting time in an exciting place I felt I belonged for the first time.
After FIT, I was accepted into The Parsons School of Design for photography, I was very excited about this but I chose not to go. Instead I started working in the fashion industry and honed in my own style of painting. Photography ended up taking a back seat for many years. I would use images from fashion, film and music to design my own painting style that was powerful and yet threatening. Adapting my love for fashion photography into my fine art pieces. The style has evolved many times over the years but my focus has stayed the same. Each piece a suit of armor, and these images are my strength.
In recent years, photography came back by accident (thank you Iphone with your built in camera). Road trip excursions visiting bleak and run down areas started to peak an interest. Documenting them with my phone became a new artistic expression. I could see structures and nature coinciding and I want to tell stories of loneliness or heartache. To showcase the abandoned and broken as a therapeutic process to help my younger self.
My painting and my photography styles are very different, yet they compliment each other in way that my younger self would approve and be grateful for. Spending years of trial and error with this need to keep my work going forward. For what...I don't know yet, but think I'm almost there.
Thanks to you guys for inspiring me to keep going!
When I started art school (FIT) in 1992 I was unclear the directions I would be going. My major was fine arts but also had an opportunity to dabble in other avenues such as jewelry, fashion and photography. I loved all of it especially photography. Being in control of what I wanted to shoot and then manipulate the image in the dark room felt empowering. It was the era of Supermodels and fashion was exciting, and going into NYC to attend this school was my first stop to therapy. I felt unbreakable that my fantasy and real world were colliding. I was with other creatives at an exciting time in an exciting place I felt I belonged for the first time.
After FIT, I was accepted into The Parsons School of Design for photography, I was very excited about this but I chose not to go. Instead I started working in the fashion industry and honed in my own style of painting. Photography ended up taking a back seat for many years. I would use images from fashion, film and music to design my own painting style that was powerful and yet threatening. Adapting my love for fashion photography into my fine art pieces. The style has evolved many times over the years but my focus has stayed the same. Each piece a suit of armor, and these images are my strength.
In recent years, photography came back by accident (thank you Iphone with your built in camera). Road trip excursions visiting bleak and run down areas started to peak an interest. Documenting them with my phone became a new artistic expression. I could see structures and nature coinciding and I want to tell stories of loneliness or heartache. To showcase the abandoned and broken as a therapeutic process to help my younger self.
My painting and my photography styles are very different, yet they compliment each other in way that my younger self would approve and be grateful for. Spending years of trial and error with this need to keep my work going forward. For what...I don't know yet, but think I'm almost there.
Thanks to you guys for inspiring me to keep going!
