Distinctly Montana Magazine

I hope people can go on a little vacation when they see one of my paintings and that they enjoy what I do. Cool Winter ending accident with my hand. Bob invited me out to watch him paint and asked me if I had an interest in painting. I had started doing some watercolor paintings and sculptures in clay to try to rehab my hand. Dentistry was always an art form for me. So art was just an extension of my dentistry. I started painting at Bob's urging and he encouraged me, telling me that I definitely had the talent and just had to paint. I developed my own technique, use of colors, and I try to create paintings that people will enjoy and would want in their home. Aspen Sunset Oil or water? How do you make the choice involved in using one medium over the other when imagining a work? I love to do both, so it is just a matter of what feels right to me at the time. Sometime, I feel like I can create the image I want with watercolor, sometimes it has to be oil. They are really different techniques so it is more about what I feel like doing at the time and what I am trying to accomplish. There seems to be a certain elusive quality about your work. It leaves the viewer wondering what is just beyond the canvas. Is that intentional? Not really, I try to create art that will bring the viewer into the painting and give them a feeling of joy. I like to use color and light to create my 34 work and as I continue to paint I want to obviously improve. I enjoy hearing people see one of my paintings and say, "Wow." Landscape painting is using natural light, and the image that is being created may leave the viewer wondering where that is and what I might have been feeling when I created it. There are so many beautiful places in our country where a painting is waiting to be created. I see beauty just about anywhere I go so that is what inspires me. I hope people can go on a little vacation when they see one of my paintings and that they enjoy what I do. Who are the modern artists you admire most? Bob Barlow, Clyde Aspevig, MC Poulsen, Robert Moore, Oleg Stavrowsky, Tom Gilleon, Michelle Cattin, Dave Hall, to name a few. That list can go on and on depending on what your definition of modern means. These artists inspire me and I hope one day to grow to be as good as them. What is the creative process like for you? Can you describe it? I see paintings anywhere I am. I take photographs of landscapes, and I go back and try to create a painting from those images. Observation is key for me. I also create images in my head that I think would be a challenge to paint and see if I can capture those images in my art. When I get motivated distinctly montana • winter 2014

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