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 I was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., but I grew up mostly in Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, and Virginia. Since 1969 I have lived in the “experimental village” of Arden, Delaware. Inspired by the arts and crafts movement, and founded in 1900, Arden is still a sweet spot for artists, actors, writers and musicians of all sorts. (The photo is of our Sheltie Pretzel and I watching a softball game on "The Green".)
I’m a self-taught artist. I began drawing when I was four, and I did my first copper embossing when I was nine. Many of my current works are of botanical subjects. I have always had a special interest in nature, and I have been an avid gardener for many years. I grow many of my subjects. Six or seven years ago I decided to concentrate on coppers. As far as I can tell, there are only a few artist, like me, who are seriously exploring this gem of a medium. Copper was one of the earliest metals worked by humans. I hope my work shows that we haven’t exhausted the possibilities it offers, because we haven’t.
In 2005 I was one of the 5,201 artists and designers who submitted a design for the World Trade Center memorial. I thought the memorial should attempt to do for world peace what the Statue of Liberty does for freedom. All of the designs submitted are still available at the website of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. Here’s the URL for my design:
www.wtcsitememorial.org/ent/entI=656968.html
I’m also a writer and a musician. Earlier in my career I was focused on publication. I published over 150 illustrations and over 350 articles, commentaries and poems. I am presently writing a book that uses my life as a lens on the life and times of the baby boom generation. I’ve given numerous concerts, but at present I rarely perform.
Here are a few things that various people have said, or written, about me over the years:
• “A genius” – James Dickey, poet/novelist, Hollins College Literary Festival, Roanoke, Va., 1967
• “Vision, tenacity and dedication…He surprises just about everybody.” – Jack D. Hunter (author of “The Blue Max”), Wilmington News Journal, 1976
• “The only artist I’ve ever met who could put an art show together just by tearing pages out of his sketch books.” – Charles Vinson, painter, 1977
• “The Leonardo of Delaware” – Dottie Terry, art dealer, 1978
• “One of the ten best twelve-string guitar players in the country” – Leo Kottke, 1980
• “The best reporter in Delaware” – Jan Robinson, Executive Director, Delaware Development Office, 1986
• “The best-kept blues secret in America” – Steve Hobson, Sin City Band, 1990
• “…where nature leaves off and the imagination begins…as much a draftsman as copper worker” – R.B. Strauss, Philadelphia ArtMatters, July 2003
I hope visitors will enjoy seeing the works here. |
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