Born: December 1949
Childhood: Happily played in Nature.. observed clouds... mother gave us kids
"paint-by-numbers"....they were my first paintings... except those "murals" with
crayons or using a stick of butter to "paint" her new sofa.... ouch!
All thru high school... took art classes... had a very charismatic art teacher who
pushed those he thought had talent and interest beyond the usual high school angst.
He was the first person I observed, besides my mother, who took art
seriously... he had passion and strength... Shows the importance of quality
teachers in our school system... they can change lives.
Won the statewide art competition for a scholarship to Allerton Art Academy when
I was a junior in HS. The academy was on an old estate with beautiful landscapes...
rivers, sculpture gardens, high-ceilinged classrooms with the intoxication of
art in process, peers from all over the country... my first experience of relating
to myself as an artist... a foretaste of serious intent.
Four years of university on scholarships... received a degree in art education.
After student teaching... decided the prevailing model of HS education was not for me.
Students are taught to parrot, not to think and reason or be truly creative..problem-solvers.
Then there was a long time of travel... lots of travel... ramblings.... but always some art.
Years passed and somehow I found myself working in Death Valley... my first
National Park job. This was to begin many years of seasonal residency in several
parks in the West... Death Valley, Zion, Sequoia, Mesa Verde, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon,
plus in between seasons ... Taos, Santa Fe, Sedona, Hawaii, Oahu, Alaska, many other places.....
all contribute to my view of the world. Throughout this restless time...
I continued to draw and paint... taking workshops from top artists at the
Scottsdale Artist's School, studying paintings from artists of the past, plus accepting the positive
influences of my contemporaries....all of this together...
joining a great lineage of painters... a daunting responsibility.
For the last 10 years..I have been able to devote most of my time to my art career.
Typically...I spend 5-6 hours a day in front of the easel with an hour or two computer
time for business . Visitors are always welcome at my seasonal studio located in one of our
magnificent National Parks of the West in the summer or the southern Arizona deserts in the winter.
Just email me for directions.
Over the years, I have exhibited in major regional art shows where I have won top awards.
Many years ago... I was invited to show in the Death Valley National Park Invitational.
Soon after... my work was accepted in a Southwest art gallery near Zion NP
until the owner retired. Now... I have this website and my studio in the Great American Outback...
plus the appreciation and support from art lovers and collectors from all corners of the world.
And everything is still evolving....
I teach workshops for a few weeks each year, paint plein-air , or work in my mobile
motorhome studio that makes a wonderfully convenient working space.
My creative focus is to concentrate on uncovering the mysterious layers of 'reality' presented through the
play of light on form.. the beautiful color changes of those layers...and pursuing the challenge
of revealing the subtle but powerful qualities of Archetypal Nature.
KM
