As a landscape painter and surfer, I am interested in making light filled paintings that reveal atmospheric conditions, of sea and sky, planes of waves and a sensation of standing in the sea foam at sunset.  I practice almost daily the fundamentals of contrast, complimentary colors, and depiction of massive phenomena: the sea, the earth and sky.  Three painters I relate to and am strongly influenced by are Santa Barbara artists Fernand Lungren (1857 – 1932), Hank Pitcher and Michael Drury, two other contemporary figurative artists are, Bo Bartlett and Vincent Disidero.   

 

 

My spirits are most exalted when surfing or swimming in the ocean.  As a child I spent most of my free time playing at the beach, rolling in the surf and white foam with my siblings.  My mother’s story of my conception at the base of More Mesa validates my love for the sea.

 

 

My ancestral heritage is also ocean based.  Both my parents are Native American, one a descendent from the Naples Village Chumash, who were maritime people.  The other is Tlingit, from the island of Sitka in southeast Alaska.  This tribe also relied on resources from the sea and many of their creation stories include the sea life.

 

 

I attended The College of Creative Studies, UCSB, and graduated in 1985 with a fine arts degree.  I studied painting with many fine painters from all over the world, including Santa Barbara’s own Hank Pitcher, Stephanie Sanchez,  Paul Georges, Tom Wudl, and master painter, Ray Strong (1905 – 2006).

 

 

Imbued with a rich personal connection to the sea and the coastal lands, I have a strong interest in preserving this environment.  I have contributed paintings to Surf Rider Foundation and Naples Coalition, two groups of concerned citizens devoted to educating the public about Santa Barbara  County’s endangered coastal lands.  I support all those who are courageously working to keep these precious land and beaches safe from development.