Artist Statement
Life is really about balancing the sacred and the profane...transcending and existing at the same time. Growing up, my adolescent years were split between the structured, silent life of a Catholic seminary and the carefree, transient life on the family Carnival. Do the two worlds negate each other by contradiction or do they expand each other with a broadened understanding? This proved to be my Artistic Boot Camp. My paintings represent wild energy and untamed brushstrokes searching for a calm place to regroup...a core grounding that soothes their agitation and makes it all come together. My art is not linear. It is a progression. Each progressive stage opens up endless possibilities for resolution. The more ideas, thoughts, and emotions actively entertained, rejected, or retained without fear of repercussions, the closer i get to inner resolution and peace - both in life and in art. Eventually the beast is fully contained and inhabits its own sacred space.
Bio
As a child, two things have always captured my imagination...art and God. And even at that early age, I knew they were somehow inextricably connected. I spent six years of my formative school years studying to be a Catholic priest. After my junior year in Seminary College I made a life decision to leave that vocation and pursue an education in liberal arts at Gonzaga University and later as a Major in Fine Arts at Loyola/ Marymount University in Los Angeles. I eventually went on to teach junior high art in the parochial school system. Although I have continued painting my entire life, it is only in the last decade that my passion for self expression has taken on an urgent and sometimes obsessive focus. My art has been critically recognized and has been purchased by major collectors including Mathew Strauss and Henry Haimshon. My paintings have hung in galleries in Los Angeles, CA, Laguna Beach, CA, La Jolla, CA and Santa Fe, NM.
Exhibits
2020 | Beverly Hills Art Show
2019 | Group show Rebecca Molayem Gallery
2019 | Jazzercise corporate offices
2018 | Jazzercise’s Corporate Offices Art Program, Carlsbad, CA
2018 | Juried National Art Competition Exhibition at Art on 30th, San Diego, CA
2018 | Group /solo exhibit at Faust Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2017 | Bonita Museum of Art, San Diego, CA - three artist exhibit
2017 | Gallery at the Brooks, Oceanside, CA - solo exhibit
2016 | Art on 30th - Edgar Allan Poe National Exhibition
2016 | Ashton Art Gallery - group exhibition Jurors choice award
2015 | Gloria Delson Contemporary Arts Group Exhibition – art demonstration
2015 | Congregation Beth Israel Chair Art Auction
2015 | Oceanside Cultural Arts Foundation – Oceanside Days of Art, The Gallery at The Brooks – art demonstration
2015 | The Gallery at The Brooks - solo exhibition
2015 | A.L.H.I. Charity: Orange County
2015 | Art Walk Oceanside Live Demonstration, Artist Alley
2015 | Art Walk Laguna Beach on display at Hugo Rivera Gallery
2015 | Variations on a Theme, San Diego - solo exhibition
2015 | Grand Opening Kauffman Art Studios, San Diego, CA - solo exhibition
2015 | Vista Hill Foundation Gala - solo exhibition
1976 | Melrose Art Gallery Los Angeles, CA
1971 | Student Art show - Loyola/ Marymount
Education
1967-1969 | St John's College Seminary
1969-1970 | Gonzaga University
1970-1972 | Loyola/Marymount University (Art Major)
1975-1976 | The Clean Palette (Robert Benson)
1980 | East Los Angeles City College Adult Art Education
2006 | UCSD Art extension classes (Elaine Harvey)
2013-present | Losina Art Center (Olya Losina)
Teaching
1972-1980 | Junior High Art Instructor Los Angeles Parochial School System
1980 | Art instructor East L A City College Adult Education
2000-2006 | Painting Workshops ( San Diego County)
2006 | "Plein Air" Painting Workshop (Las Cruces New Mexico)
2019 | Oceanside school District Youth painting workshop
Publications
February 8, 2015 | Steve Marcotte, “Oceanside First Friday ArtWalk a Continuing Success,” O’side News, Arts & Entertainment
April 12, 2015 | Eva Trieger, “More Than Acrylic & Pastels,” San Diego Jewish World, Culture and Lifestyle, San Diego Calendar
May 2015 | Petra Wright, “Art Spotlight” Downtown LA Life Magazine
2016 | Edgar Allen Poe Museum Art Catalog