Much of my professional art career has been devoted to pen and ink. Weekly road shows were my main venue for showcasing my work. I focused on wildlife and figurative works.  I gained acceptance in many galleries in the Northwest and was honored by being displayed and listed in a book on Notable Northwest Artists.

In about 2008 I was feeling like I had nothing left to prove with pen and ink.  I found myself doing a piece simply because I thought I could sell it quickly.  Always in the back of my mind I was hearing the call of metalpoint, or was it the call of the wild?  Naturally I took off for a summer in Alaska.  A year went by, I returned to Seattle, and still hadn't touched a pen.  I decided I wasn't going to do shows again, not like I had been anyway.  I wanted to do nudes in metal point.  I wanted to explore this exotic medium which I basically had to invent myself because there just isn't much out there to give guidance. 

I first heard about metalpoint in 2000 when I saw an article with photos of Dennis Martisn's work. I was struck with the "light" effects and softness he was able to achieve with this medium.  I had tried a couple of pieces then, "Freedom" and "It's the King", which I sold.  I was hooked.  But it was 9 more years of thinking about it while doing pen and ink and making a living as an artist before I could finally break free.

While in Alaska I panned enough gold to have it melted down and pulled into the drawing poing that I use now. It's 24 kt Klondike Gold.

I choose my pieces carefully looking for contrast, bright light and softness. I think of this work as about the light and shadows. Doing shadows withing shadows and making the edges fuzzy to accomplish a softness. I like the fact that there are only a few artists world wide doing metal point today.

I am now on the next course in my artist life and am eager to see how far I can push this new medium.