Conceptual Artist.

I prefer pine trees to streetlights, sandstone canyons to big cities, the sound of birds in the morning to a crowded concert at night, or a simple campfire meal to fine dining with linens. You can find me backcountry skiing in the mountains of Utah, mountain biking on desert single track, sketching in my journal while out hiking, or painting in my shipping container studio in an aspen grove near Park City. I am an artist, a naturalist, and a writer.

I work with a variety of media, including encaustic, milk paint, homemade inks, and watercolor, but I also work with snow, the wind, found materials, natural light, and the earth. I draw inspiration from drifting clouds, the changing weather, the shifting light, the flora and fauna, and the slow progression of the seasons. I create artwork that captures the soul of the mountain west.

My goal is not to create picture perfect landscapes, in fact a photographer would be far better suited than I to capture what a place looks like. I am far more interested in capturing a fleeting moment - clouds pinned to the sky, the wind as it blows snow off a tree, the light as it hits a mountain peak.

My most well-known medium is encaustic, and I create these paintings by layering beeswax and other mixed media to create atmospheric landscapes that have a three-dimensional affect in a 2D space. The wax acts the part of the atmosphere, creating depth, space, and even time in which to create my ethereal landscapes. I work from memory and my own photographs, and use encaustic as a way to capture and preserve those moments. And just like my memory, the re-creation is not picture perfect - it is hazy, saturated, and highlighted in the way that I can best recall.

A selection of my encaustic, watercolor, and project work is available on this site. For a quick tour of my studio, check out my profile on 15 Bytes. And to learn more about my participation in shows, exhibits and my other art-related activities, please refer to my CV Resume.