No other subject is so expressive, so symbolic, so universal yet so personal, so provocative, so rich with artistic potential, as is the bare human body. A pillar of western art for 2000 years, art authority Kenneth Clark goes so far to say “the nude is not a subject of art, but a form of art.” 
Ever since taking a non-credit life drawing class while in college, I have aspired to master rendering the nude figure. After three decades of practice, I'm starting to get the hang of it - even exploring figures who are still wearing clothes. 

The vast majority of my landscape paintings depict or are inspired by places in the Hillsborough NC area. Hillsborough’s sidewalks and streets are wonderful places to walk, profuse with gardens and vistas tunneling through the overhanging foliage. These paintings share a broad theme of paths leading into the interior spaces of exterior places, views where activity is in the shadows as much as the light. 
Many paintings have an associated GPS coordinate, which can be copy and pasted into GoogleMaps to drop a pin where the scene can be viewed in real life.

Walk in the woods. Gaze mindfully on leaves, water, sky, earth. Breathe deeply. Be at peace. Stroll toward wellbeing. In 1982 the term shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing,” was introduced in Japan to encourage connecting with nature as an effective practice in wellness. The term may be modern, as is the scientific evidence confirming real health benefits, but the knowledge and wisdom to practice immersion in nature is ancient. These paintings showcased in 'Forest Bathing' strive to bring the spirit of shinrin-yoku onto the canvas and into the room. While inspired by specific local places, my intention is to evoke a universal human experience when we surround ourselves in mother nature.
The artworks in this collection were included in an exhibit at the Thomas Stevens Gallery in 2023 and reprised in 2024. 

My landscape body of work of the last decade could be described as representational, depicting views of specific Hillsborough locations that observe ‘interiors’ of ‘exterior’ places.. People often initially see my Oculus paintings as abstracts, and comment how much they depart from my previous work. Yet these paintings are indeed very representational, observing the readily identifiable structure of the beloved A Sight to Behold stickwork sculpture by artist Patrick Dougherty which stood on Hillsborough’s Riverwalk from late 2015 until early 2019. This series show a view from inside the sculpture, looking up through the oculus in the domed roof.