My Life as an Artist

I started carving, drawing, and painting as a child.

It was a safe place from the scary events in life.

I was born in Washington, Connecticut, youngest of five, to a father who was a florist and a mother who was a knitter, weaver, spinner. The local area had a number of artists whose work greatly influenced and affected me. Exposure to growing plants and their care at the flower shop made me look closer at details. I was encouraged by my family to draw and make things.

At the American Visionary Art Museum

In the confusion of turbulent times and childhood trauma, I learned I felt safe when drawing, painting, or carving wood and stone. I did not have much understanding of what was happening to me but making things felt good. It was a world I could control and quiet the noise in my thinking. I found refuge in alcoholism, got help, and have been sober since 1981.

I was able to have a four-year introduction to the arts at Gunnery and Wykeham Rise, a fine art high school. After that, I attended the Maryland Institute, College of Art and in 1976, received a BFA in mixed media arts.

Since then, I've been working on my own with various shows and adventures. I've worked on puppetry, wood carving and hot glass, but have always focused on detailed drawings and paintings.

My Studio

In 1980, I bought 20 acres of land outside Springfield, Vermont for $8,000. I timbered the land using horses and, from that timber, built the house and studio in which I live and work today. Getting out of the studio is important to me and has allowed me to work on landscape and wildlife painting and to provide inspiration for my visionary work.

Invisible Circus Studio

Inside the Studio

The Making of Earth-Sky Goddess

In my drawings I often dust the paper with graphite powder resulting in gray cloud like shapes within which I find images and develop into a vision that is not entirely controlled by me, trusting in happy accidents and unforeseen insight. This method, used by surrealists, has worked well and I am constantly surprised at what appears. Each work is an adventure of uncovering surprises.

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