In my early years, it was my good (and lucky) fortune to circle the world, seeing and learning about many of its cultures and histories. Now, my goal as an artist is to seek to share a sense of awe for the wonderful things in life that surround us, and to freeze them in time, for present and future generations to reflect upon, remember, and collect.

The journey began at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, where my dad was the Weather Officer for the first U.S. rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, in July 1950. I watched it soar overhead from the beach in front of the 'O Club at Patrick. Since the Mars Pathfinder in 1996, I am back at the Cape, this time as a space launch artist covering and capturing as art, all the USAF and NASA Launches.

In between, I've been lucky to..... as an Air Force brat, circle the globe soaking up classical cultures and the art of Civilizations and Masters as we went and return to Florida to watch unimaginably brave warriors take dangerous rides atop huge firecrackers... cover the first (and now, tragically, the last) mission of Columbia, the first shuttle Launched in 1981 ... be blessed to share a quiet dinner with Alan Shepard talking about an old watering hole, the (now lost) Tradewinds Hotel, in Indialantic, south of the Cape... Since 1996, with the launch of Mars Pathfinder, I have been back capturing the launches at Cape Canaveral -- journeys as varied as the Mars Explorers, John Glenn's return to flight, and now man's first permanent foothold in space. With still and video cameras, laptops and cell phones, we sculpt a record as humanity strives to reach the stars.

Two of my series juxtaposed, Space Launch and Wildlife, combine to create a favorite exhibition - 'Birds of a feather ...'. It illustrates the promising coexistence of man's most technologically advanced and challenging undertaking, with some of the most beautiful and endangered birds in the world, within sight of the launch towers at the Cape. Other series include New York / Central Park, New Orleans /French Square , 356 Porsches, Sundance ,Vanishing Florida , Florida Groves, Maine Coast, Washington D.C., and Aphrodite. I am currently in the process of compiling a coffee-table book entitled ' Emerging Florida: a Portrait, or, A Brief Illustrated History of the United States'. Brevard County, where I have grown up, is the site of both the first recorded western footstep on the continental US
(http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/FountainofYouth.pdf page 15, footnote (4)), and the world's first and continuing space exploration effort. The co-author is Michael Gainey, a 4th generation Floridian.

Collections: United States Air Force Permanent Collection, NASA, Jerry Seinfeld, Robert Redford, City of Orhangazi, Turkey, and Lady Eleanor Kristensen.

Associations: Member, Air Force Artists Program
Oil on Silverprint
The choice of media for my artwork is the earliest form of color photography, commonly known as hand-colored photography. This technique uses a black and white photograph -- a silverprint ( that is, a silver-salts image on a durable paper backing) as a base for oil paints that are applied directly to the face of the print.

The oils used are the same as those used by traditional oil painters, absent any titanium white. Titanium white is the filler that makes regular oil paints opaque, in order to obscure the sketch/canvas underneath the painting. The pigments I use are transparent oils, and they let me paint the work without obscuring the silverprint image underneath.

In addition to the unusual look of this media, it offers great archival properties. Silver prints are resistant to fading, and oil paints have been proven to hold up for hundreds of years. The look, while it can be quite contemporary, also lends itself to reflecting things from the past, especially history-related subjects.

In order to create my artwork, I:
* compose and shoot B&W negatives (Tri X film) with a Nikon F2/MD12 35mm slr camera
* develop the film images in total darkness
* select, compose, print, and develop individual images as silverprints, using chemical processes, in special light conditions
* touch-up minor imperfections on the surface of the silverprint image
* hand-apply the oils on the silverprint
I have come to develop an unusual method with this media that results in finished work that has the appearance of a photo-realistic oil painting. I modify the media by fully saturating the colors, rather than the original pastel effect used from the late 1800's through the 1950's (as color film effectively replaced the hand-colored technique).

I use methods that involve detailed hand work in the creation of the piece. I think that in the (not too distant?) future, most hands will touch nothing artists will tell computers what to do to create their art. I am more comfortable with an intimate, hands-on approach.