I have painted people for 40 years, much of it publicly. That is a great way to sharpen your skills. And people love to watch an artist at work.

Having up-skilled in all the painterly mediums to achieve a high degree of “realism“, through paint I have explored portraiture “accuracy“, people in their place, amidst their heritage, symbolically presenting their values and beliefs. I also relish looking behind the obvious and exploring in paint so called metaphysical views of human “presentation“.

Portraiture requires a close and trusting connection with my subject. This opens up a special client/painter relationship at a heart level.

Portraiture is exacting. Paint-mixing is a science. There is the accuracy-versus-aliveness challenge of capturing character. Then there is the over-riding artist's desire to capture that X-factor “something“, the genius factor. An emotional rollercoaster can be set up that can result in fear to go any further or an expectation that risks perfectionism...

However in my view those hard won skills developed for realistic portrayal are vital for the more spontaneous right-brain creativity. I relish the earned freedom to stack memory upon metaphor upon archetype in expressive artworks, releasing me from the rigors of “realism“. I seek to achieve this in my 'Triptychs'- See these in this website's “Creative Exploration“ section. These artworks intrigue me, drawing spontaneously upon that reservoir of skill development and a lifetime of memories.

Archetypes by the way are those visual keys, symbolic images “viscerally“ understood, that speak to any human soul of any culture. They can pop up spontaneously when an artist is flowing paint freely. This is a highly prized ability. It is the art of the human spirit set free, and having arrived there I love to teach this approach. An oxymoron? Yes. But a high-dive way to find out what you need to know to achieve a useful landing.