The fall of 2007 represented 25 years of painting since attempting my first painting.

In spite of brief studies at the Ontario College of Art in the mid eighties I consider myself self-taught. I have pursued an art career on a full time basis for the past fifteen years.

Although I have taught painting, I have personally never taken a painting class. Instead, I spent many years researching and studying past master’s techniques and styles in an effort to develop a thorough understanding of line, light and colour. However, most of my learning came from the many paintings I have created.

There were many advantages and disadvantages to having been self-taught but I believe the advantages far outweighed the disadvantages. The greatest advantage was having had the freedom to grow artistically without influence from prevailing schools of thought. This led me to a distinctively unique artistic expression which becomes apparent in my most recent works. I have also had the opportunity to learn the craft of painting well and to follow a development not unlike that of the historical evolution of painting within western society.