Art to me is about connections. Any two people can look at the Arch de Triumph in Paris and see different things. By taking a photograph or painting a picture, an artist allows others to see the world as he does. All too often I hear people discuss a work of art and tell someone, "some people just don't get it." I think thats a cop out. It is a way to separate from each other and exclude other views. Art should be inclusive, it should bring people of different walks, races, and creeds together. My educational background is in English Literature and writing. One thing I know for sure is that we seldom know what the author (or artist) was thinking!In artist's statements we always tell about the masters that we look to for inspiration, the famous people you've actually heard of that influenced us. My father is my greatest artistic influence. I grew up working construction for my him and looking at the prints he created as a printmaker in college. Both are seen in my own work. My photography could be described as architectural portraits. In many of my photos, the buildings themselves become characters. I am fascinated by how the structures interact to create tension and resolution. They interact with their surroundings and take on characteristics of the
neighborhoods and areas in which they live. Even when I photograph plants, they tend to take on an architectural quality as I attempt to highlight how they are put together.The artistry of blueprints and my father's artworks inspired a love of line drawings at an early age. I have drawn heavily on this style in my illustrations. In looking to the masters I often found more interest in their sketches than in the masterpieces. Leonardo da Vinci's anatomy drawings and sketches of inventions are more beautiful to me than the "Mona Lisa." I find a unity of architecture and organic life in line drawings.My body of work shows my love of creativity rather than a mastery of any one medium. I enjoy juxtaposing photography with illustration, video with still images, or etching style drawings with computer animation. This harmony of mediums and styles, that may not immediately seem complimentary, is exemplary of what I think art should be. It should unite us as we discuss with one another what we see. I love to sit with someone and discuss two completely opposite views of the same work.