... In 1992 I won first place in The
Monmouth Council for the Arts fine art
contest
In 1993 I attended The School of Visual Arts in New York and
studied fine art under artist Steven
Westfall and lived with John Hodany, an
art student at Cooper Union who was a
great inspiration to me and a major
influence on my creativity. In 1994 I
had my first show of paintings at the
School of Visual Arts East Side Gallery
where I sold some work.
In 1995 I dropped out of school and returned home due to health
problems where I worked and studied my
craft. It was during this time that I
began a series of projects that would
occupy my life for years to come.
From 1998-2000 I worked for Wemrock Orchards painted a 30' x 30 '
edifice of a haunted house and over a
hundred life-size characters for their
seasonal hayride event.
Between 1999 and 2001 I studied acting and performed in community
theater productions of “The House of
Yes” and “Ghosts of the Loyal Oaks”.
In 2003 I was accepted to The Guild of Creative Art and entered
work in several shows throughout
Monmouth County and in 2004 I had my
first one-man show at Gallery 31 in
Freehold entitled “The Roadside Rags”.
Like all artists, my surroundings and
the age in which I live have determined
the art I choose to make. As an
American man brought up in pop culture,
I have inexorably embraced this reality
while somehow preserving a degree of
autonomy in the unspoken understanding
that I live on Planet Earth before I
live in The United States of America.
This wisdom has led me into studies in
world history, religion, and current
events and has kept me focused on
exploring my own outer and inner truth.
One night up at school in New York I
caught sight of one of my professors as
I came out of a music club and in a
state of self-doubt I asked him what the
secret was for making great art. He said
to me, “Just keep doing it”.
I was disappointed with such an answer. But years later what became
clear to me was that an artist is an
artist and that it may not be up to us
what happens as a result or to make art
for any other reason than that.
