Hey -- you made it to this page! Few will, as most don't look at the "about me" pages. So, as you've ventured this far, you deserve to be inflicted with even more information on me. Actually, I appreciate your curiosity and taking the time to travel this deep into my web site.

I had been taking classes in realistic and impressionist drawing and painting at the Minnesota River School of Fine Art until I could no longer afford classes. It was a wonderful experience, and one I hope to return to once I make my fortune as a professional photographer. Yeah, right ... don't hold your breath, Pat (Pat is the director and head instructor at the school). I learned quite a bit in my couple years of classes, and of course I have a long ways to go. But art is a learning experience; I don't believe an artist ever stops learning or encountering new and unique challenges in their craft. These are samples of my student work, and a couple pieces I did at home outside of class. I hope to one day paint in the style of the English Victorian painters; the Pre-Raphaelites are a huge influence in what I'd like to do.

Other influences are the instructors at the Minnesota River School. I firmly believe that any success I achieved at the school are a direct measure of the quality of instruction there. I took most of my classes from Pat Jerde, the director and head instructor, and I've been amazed at her abilities to teach and inspire her students. The critiques I received while at the school were indispensable in learning, and while never letting me get away with anything the were given in a very positive way. I really hated it when I was instructed to bring Keith's nose down about 1/4 inch, and it was truly annoying because I knew Karen was right. But it wasn't as hard as I had thought it would be -- fixing a painting is one of the best ways to learn.

Photographing this stuff was an experiment with a new toy of mine -- a Nikon Coolpix 5000 digital camera. Its a nice little thing, as I can use studio lights with it (which is why I bought it). Not all the pictures are that great -- some are behind glass and a couple are varnished. So, because of glare I had to shoot them at weird angles. You can still see the work fairly well, but I'd prefer it to be shot more front-on. I may update them with better photos at some point in the future.

 

This is a rather old drawing; it was drawn and brushed in charcoal on charcoal paper.