The artist was born to a family of 8 in Seattle, Washington. His father was a Federal Parole Officer, who had met his future wife at the Seattle Symphony during World War II while flying B-17’s out of Boeing Field, in Seattle. All 6 of the children were rigorously trained in classical music from age 5, and several would go on to great success in the classical music and ballet field.
After attending first Linfield College and then the University of Washington, the artist left school and traveled through Europe by bicycle without bothering to re-enroll at the “U”. This was in 1966 and the draft awaited at the end of the adventure. Entering the Army as a private he served in Vietnam as C.O. of an unofficial “E” company made up of mortar, reconnaissance, and headquarters personnel where he received a Bronze Star with the Fourth Infantry Division. Upon return to the “World” (those serving in Vietnam called the mainland U.S. “The World”, he re-enrolled in the University of Washington, earning a B.A. in History. He then attended Western Washington University for graduate studies, also in history.
There, at last interesting employment was discovered. Drawing houses to sell in Bellingham, where there was some modest success, he was hired by the Alaska Silver and Ivory Company, which was re-introducing the lost American art form of scrimshaw on Mastadon, Fossil Walrus, and Mammoth ivory. After learning the technique and tiring of the small scale jewelry that was then the only work available with that company, he and three other artists broke off and began to do larger and more serious display works for collectors. The same antique ivories were the materials used but to a larger more elaborate scale. Single works sometimes took a month to do, and were then retailing up to $15,000 each. Subject matters varied from animals in the jungle whales in the sea to historic battle scenes. As the group’s technique developed, the scrimshaw art works , which were essentially tattoos on finely polished ancient ivory, became highly photo realistic and have been in constant demand to this day. He married in the 1975.
The art form of scrimshaw requires intense, exhausting, concentration, and the subject matter has always been realistic. This is what the market has demanded. But this highly
The Artist’s Family Growing Up
The commercial art of scrimshaw was a highly specialized market and did not offer a very great freedom of expression, and this can be less than satisfying to the artist’s creative needs. In 1993 the artist moved to Portland, Oregon and began painting “En Pleine Air”, that is, on location, in front of the subject. A great fan of Edward Hopper, his art often took on that great man’s style. He continued this vocation in Seattle, Bellingham, and then in Eastern Washington. Since then he has been in many group and one man exhibits, showing at one man shows in in Portland, Astoria, Anacortes, Seattle, Tacoma, Port Townsend, Bellingham, and Spokane, and continues his former work of scrimshaw with oil and water color painting .
The Artist’s Studio
At this time his style is changing to an ever looser and more colorful one. Seascapes are one favorite subject, as are Cityscapes and , increasingly, landscapes. He has ongoing representation at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts (since 2001), Lahaina Scrimshaw (since 1982), and The Scrimshaw gallery of San Francisco (since 1975.) Private Art Representatives also carry his works for sale to locations primarily on the West Coast of the United states and Hawaii.
