The Story Behind the Piece: Highland Pastoral

When we were in Scotland touring the Highlands we saw a bunch of Scottish Highland cows, also known as Coos. One of our stops was a roadside coffee shop, and across the road was a field with some of them hanging out.

One of the first things that was apparent upon seeing them was that these particular cows were very familiar with people and expected treats for their time. They called out to us quite loudly and gathered around the fence that separated as from them. One of the things I love most about these particular cows are their cuddly appearance and their fun personalities. They are very much like big dogs.

I enjoyed creating this painting because it reminded me of that fun stop to see the animals, and it gave me the chance to expand my skills by painting an animal and the peaceful landscape surrounding it. I hope the viewers enjoy this piece as well as sparks some curiosity to view these animals for themselves.

Artists Who Inspire Me

The Dutch Masters, Including Rembrandt and Vermeer

Top Left: Young Woman with a Water Pitcher by Vermeer

Top Right: A Maid Asleep by Vermeer

Bottom Left: Man With a Magnifying Glass by Rembrandt

Bottom Right: Self Portrait by Rembrandt

I’ve been fascinated by and drawn to paintings by Dutch Masters like Vermeer and Rembrandt since I first saw their work in high school. I was drawn to their amazing talent and abilities to so perfectly paint people, but I also loved the strong attention to light and shadow and how it created a striking and moody feeling to the painting.

Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window by Vermeer

Vermeer’s ability to take a scene from everyday life and give it a sense of importance and elegance is inspiring. 

Left: The Courtyard of A House by Pieter de Hooch

Right: The Little Street by Vermeer

Apart from the portraitists in this group of artists I also admire the landscapes that were created. No matter if the setting is a field with trees, a cityscape with buildings and people, or otherwise, the artists were exploring similar ideas of light, composition, and daily life. I think the fascination with depicting your everyday life has existed across all time in art, and it's something that never ceases to be captivating to look at.

The Meaning Behind My Art

I grew up in a relatively small town in Vermont. The landscape was filled with areas of natural beauty, from small quiet ponds surrounded by summer cottages, woods filled with huge old trees, mountain ranges you could see from near and far, lush fields that were sometimes just green grass expanding untouched, and some filled with crops and animals, evidence of the state’s expansive farmlands. I grew up being immersed in this natural wonderland. Although I loved (and still do) that to grow up in, when I went to college I wanted to experience a different sort of life. The city called for me, and from the options I had I ultimately chose Philly to spend my college years and then to continue as an adult.

Washington Square Park in Center City during the Autumn.

Philly has changed quite a bit since I moved here in 2002, but in some ways it is also the same. You have a city rich in history that is both internal and external. There are many historic buildings and landscapes in the area to appreciate. You can see the history in the streets, from the cobblestones remaining in some streets, and the trolley tracks that eventually became unused when buses took on more routes . You have stone and brick homes and buildings that have been preserved and remodeled over the past 250+ years. Although there is a lot of contemporary architecture you often see buildings that have original signage or details that were built upon to create the building as it now can be seen.

These were some shots I took on a walk around the city that I feel encapsulate the magic you can see while walking around Philadelphia. There's so much history and beautiful architecture to draw your eye to.

A temple in Tokyo with skyscrapers surrounding it.

When I started painting landscapes and cityscapes as an adult I was inspired by my 2014 trip to Tokyo. The combination of history and the new was evident everywhere, on top of the awe of seeing a place that looked so different in many ways than where I grew up and even from Philadelphia. I wanted to show everyone how that looked and hoped they’d appreciate it too and would want to know more.

After I finished my Japan series I decided to take my focus much closer to home. For my first collection of Philadelphia paintings I walked around the city, starting in my former neighborhood of Pennsport and making my way west to Fitler’s Square through Rittenhouse Square. There was so much to see and appreciate that I decided to explore different neighborhoods and continued the series.

By painting these houses I want to bring people’s attention to the ways little moments can really influence how you see a building, and how if you take a little time to really look around you can see all the little moments that become a work of beauty.

My Time in College

A self portrait from my freshman year in College.

I went to college in Philadelphia at the University of the Arts, and got my degree in painting and drawing. 

These paintings were completed during my Sophomore and Junior Years of College. I was learning a lot about the foundations behind creating a successful painting.

College was an eye opener for me and taught me so much about what I wanted to do as an artist and how I could create it. There were some bumps in the road, and I wish some of the more practical tools we need to actually make a career out of art were taught, but creatively it was a priceless experience that would have taken me much longer to learn on my own.

This photo was taken during my Junior year in my studio at UArts.

During my college years I really explored my style and the mediums I like to use. As a teenager I was drawn to really representational portraits. I wanted to paint people and capture their personalities and lives like I’d seen in the art history books through artists like Sargent, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Manet, Mary Cassat, and etc. As I progressed through school I saw that there were a lot of different ways to paint a portrait, and I learned how they could look if you expanded your materials past just oils.

In my first semester of senior year I stopped using oils and transitioned to fluid acrylics on paper. I loved how the fluid acrylics could be used similar to watercolors but get levels of opaqueness that resembled acrylics. I also experimented with line work. I wanted to play with the positive and negative space both in and around the figure, and I liked the contrast between black and white and color in the same piece.

I continued to paint people during this time, but I started to think about the internal life of the subject and the view that was projected to the outside world. Even though I don’t paint as many people as I used to, I think that introspection and the idea of having hidden beauty is connected between humans and the landscape. My cityscapes are portraits in their own ways. Each house, although it might have many of the same qualities as other houses and buildings, is unique in its own way, and we can see that if we just take the time to look.

My Beginnings As An Artist

Shown Above: Pages from a few of my earliest sketchbooks

I have been drawing ever since I can remember. My earliest sketchbook is from 5th or 6th grade, so I guess I started really practicing and analyzing my art when I was around 11 or 12. High school was the most transformative time of my young life though, and a large part of that was due to the art teachers I had. They introduced me to life drawing, a variety of painting styles and mediums, sculpture, critical thinking in regards to art, and really paved the way for me to pursue my passion.

Shown Above: This painting was one of the first paintings I had in a school art show. I painted it using a photo from a magazine as a reference.

Shown Above: This painting was inspired by a summer trip to my aunt and uncle's house on Monhegan Island in Maine and was the first time I really felt proud of a painting I had created.

The summer between 10th and 11th grade I took part in the Governor's Institute of the Art at Castleton State College where we did drawing from live models and studied all sorts of art forms, from sculpture, dance, theater and music. I knew from that summer that I was meant to follow my dream of becoming an artist.

A self portrait I completed during the Governor's Institute of Vermont in 2000.

This still life was completed at the Pre-College program at Maine College of Art in 2001.

During senior year of high school I took an independent art period both semesters. I tried applying what I learned the previous year to experiment and create what became my portfolio for college.

This drawing was part of my portfolio that I used to get into college. 

My art has changed over the years, but I have always had a strong interest in color and representational painting, drawing inspiration from classic painters like John Singer Sargent, Vermeer, and the Hudson River School. My experiences through high school led me to take the path I did, and I am grateful for all of the opportunities I had to explore my creativity.

My Earliest Memories of Art

I grew up in a very creative family, and throughout my childhood I was exposed to a wide variety of types of art. My mother has always been a very creative person, and that definitely inspired me growing up. I remember sitting at our dining room table with her while she worked on her tole paintings and going with her to my grandparents (who were also very crafty. My grandmother is a talented lifelong quilter, and my grandfather was a veteran carpenter who took pride in his craftsmanship) house to cut out wood blocks that would later become the crafts she would create and sell at craft shows.

Left: My grandmother and a quilt she made for me upon my high school graduation
Right: My grandfather working in his wood shop on some bird houses.

Beyond that one of my aunts is a watercolorist, and I was able to see her art studio and shop in Maine from a young age, able to envision what being a professional artist could look like.

Seeing all of these things while being surrounded by loving and encouraging friends and family gave me the encouragement I needed to pursue a career as an artist. I went to art school in Philadelphia, and got a degree in painting and drawing. I’ve worked since then to grow as an artist and move towards having this be my full time career.

The style of my art may be different than that of my relatives and earliest inspirations, but I think their value of history, tradition and the natural beauty of the everyday comes through.