StatementThe observation of beauty is an invitation to pause and to just be present. My intention is to allow my viewer the experience of that pause, during which the encroachments of daily life fall away. ProcessI use beauty to invite people to slow down, allowing their perception to become more sensitive. ‘Beauty’ is my invitation to the viewer to depart from ordinary perception -- and to bask in the revelation of ‘the now.’ It is a reintroduction to the everyday sublime, to that which is happening in the moment that we don’t always notice. My art reintroduces us to a world we’ve become accustomed to, to the sensory world in which we are embedded, but take for granted -- such as the sky or trees. The most remarkable kind of transcendent experience is the one we’re having right now: an experience, free of memory or anticipation of the future. That’s my intention as an artist. My process is fairly simple. I apply Venetian plaster to canvas on board, using plaster and drywall tools, brushes, baking-, cake-decorating, and auto-body tools -- plus, whatever else I might find to get the job done. My pigment recipes are proprietary. I paint on custom French marine mahogany cradled panels by John Annesley Co. After the plaster cures, it is burnished with mica-silver/mica-gold, and then treated with a protective wax layer that bonds the plaster, giving it a final luster. My compositions and colors are inspired by ancient Chinese and Japanese brushwork on paper. My Sumi-e studies in a Buddhist Temple and brushwork apprenticeship with contemporary Chinese Master Yuebin Gong are evident in my work. Sumi-e is a contemplative discipline in Japanese Buddhism, and it is practiced in the Zen and Shingon traditions. Chinese brushwork from the 1200s onward was part of the “Literati” culture: Chinese Sages and their philosophies, Chinese poetry and calligraphy, Chinese Feng Shui and I Ching, Chinese meditation (Qigong and Tai Chi), and Chinese Qin Music are all part of this grand tradition. More important than the physical process of ‘producing art’ is my frame of mind or state of being. As a Zen Master or Chinese Sage would have done, I start my work day by emptying my mind of chatter or clutter to become present for ‘the process.’ Meditation, Yoga, and Chi Gong all give me access to clearing my mind. Only then do I begin my work. Often, I feel like a little boy, afraid of jumping into a chilly pool when I approach the blank canvas. Terror and exhilaration rise up, simultaneously. Sometimes, the ‘spirit’ of everybody I’ve ever known, loved, hated, or wished things had gone differently with are there with me in my studio. Once I am ‘in’ the piece, however, I experience a sense of disappearing: it’s an “unworldly pleasure” wherein thoughts, the spoken word, and time lose all definition for me. Terror becomes calm, exhilaration becomes focus, and that ‘crowd’ quietly dissipates. BioI was fascinated with art as a child. I received ‘adult-size’ acrylic paint sets as gifts when I was fairly young -- say, ten or so. I wanted to know how ‘it’ was done. My wanting to know how things worked also made me disassemble many things around the house, both rendering them useless and often evoking the ire of my parents. When I went back to school to earn a degree in Mathematics in my late twenties, I also took art courses. I was thoroughly impassioned with drawing and painting and studied art with the same amount of diligence that I had applied to my math courses. In 1991, while attending school, I started to seriously pursue working in oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, pen, and my favorites – Sumi-e and Chinese landscapes on rice paper. I also exhibited and sold some of my early chiaroscuro and abstract still lifes at wineries and to friends and family. In 2005, I was helping my parents with a bathroom and kitchen remodel when I saw a demonstration for a Venetian plaster product. I was dazzled by its luster, glow, and the organic beauty of its ground marble and therefore trained in Los Angeles as an installer. Next, I began experimenting with the plaster as an artistic medium. In 2007, after seemingly endless hours of trying different tools and techniques, I began producing high-quality abstract pieces. I had found a niche, a unique tangent. At last, I had found my voice in ‘my medium.’ In July 2009 I made a mid-career choice to become a full-time artist. My first gallery show in Sacramento, CA in July 2009 was a success. July 2025 marks the beginning of my sixteenth successful year as a full-time professional artist. Selected Corporate CollectionsSutter Medical Foundation, Santa Rosa, CAAT&T Corp. Offices, Pleasanton, CACrump Ins. Co, San Francisco, CAChristie’s International Real Estate, Lafayette, CAKeller & Associates: Industrial-Workplace consultants, Sacramento, CAWinn & Winn, Attorneys-at-Law, Gold River, CAAnthony Garafole, Attorney, SacramentoAutomated Civil Engineering, SacramentoHills & Grant, Interior Designers, Orinda, CAMichael Mason Salon, Sacramento Arista Winery, Healdsburg, CAEye Care Associates, Livonia, MIAlison Granier, M.D., North Idaho Eye Institute, Coeur d’Alene Selected Private CollectorsTom and Cindy Costin, Nahant, MA and Mill Valley, CACourtney and Jeremy Raich, Battle Ground, WADan Farber, Marianne Wilman, Journalist and Corporate Coach, Occidental CAAlan Ashworth, Senior Vice President, Cancer Services, Professor of Medicine, UCSFLt. Colonel Jared Paine, United States Air Force, Yacolt, WAVernon Davis, San Francisco 49er Football Team, San Jose, CADavid Lawee, Google, Vice-President, MarketingChip Bowers, Oakland Warriors Basketball Team, Chief Marketing Officer, Orinda, CAElizabeth Abrahamson, Vice-President, The GapBrett K. Pitts, Wells Fargo, Senior Vice President, Orinda,CAGregory Mignano, Director, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Washington, D.C.Vince Geronimo, PWA Environ.-Tech: Houston, TX/Kuala Lumpur/Aberdeen, ScotlandPatrick Davila, Meadowood Resort, Director of Wine & Cuisine, Hotel Manager, Napa ValleyMorgan Ray, docent, Di Rosa Preserve: a museum of Northern CA contemporary artistsPati Brown, Director, CA Department of Parks & RecreationMark Baker, Target Stores, Distribution & Multi-unit-Store HR-Manager, SacramentoKevin Trivedi, MFA, Art Professor, SacramentoJim and Joanie Ferry, 20th St. Gallery, Sacramento Karen Hart, Showplace Art, Berkeley, CAKirsten Kincaid, former supermodel, Franklin Lakes, NJ Kathleen Gnekow and Mike Garcia, Sacramento and Germany Terry and Alli Asnaashari, Fair Oaks, CA Kathrine Lemke-Waste, Artist, Sacramento Selected Solo ShowsAMFA Gallery, Orinda, CA February 2015The Pence Gallery, Davis, CA December 2014Sacramento County Administration Center (20th St. Gallery), Aug.-Sep. 2009Keller Group, Sacramento, Oct. 2010 “B” Street Theatre (20th St. Gallery), Sacramento, Aug.-Dec. 2009Blue Wing Gallery, Woodland CA, Sept 2008Robert Stemmler Vineyards, Healdsburg, CA, 1994-1997Juried ExhibitionsArtist’s Valentine Redux, invitational (Benefit Auction), Nelson Gallery, UC Davis Jan 2015The Pence Gallery (Benefit Auction), Sep. 2013, 2014“Dreamscapes: Into the Unknown,” O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA, Sep. 2012International Association for the Study of Dreams, Berkeley, June 2012“Art for Aids,” (Benefit Auction), UCSF, Sep. 2011, 2015, 2016, Live Auction 2017Shawna Stoney (ALS Benefit Auction), San Francisco, CA, Sep. 2010Featured ArtistAMFA, “Parallel Affinity,” Berkeley, Feb. 2012Showcase Art, Berkeley, Nov. 2010Trove, Berkeley, Nov. 201020th Street Gallery, “A Matter of Opinion,” July, 200920th Street Gallery, “Visual Impact,” Jan. 201020th Street Gallery, “Intangible Concepts,” July 2010 Selected Group Shows and Galleries Gallery 408, Camas, WA, Jan 2025 to PresentModern Villa Gallery, Cannon Beach, OR, July 2024 to presentLori Austin Gallery, Sebastopol, Sonoma and Healdsburg, CA, Feb 2019 to presentStafford Gallery, Healdsburg, CA, July 2018 to Sep 2022 (closed)CK Art Gallery, Sacramento, CA, January 2018 to September 2018 (closed)Renjeau Gallery, Natick MA, Oct 2016 to presentBoulevard Fine Art, Nokomis FL, Clarendon Hills IL, Oct 2016 to presentChemers Gallery, Tustin CA (Los Angeles) 2016 to PresentDennis Rae Fine Art, St. Helena & San Francisco, CA, Sep. 2012 to Spring 2020“A” Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT, June 2014 to presentGallery 85 (Vernon Davis Foundation), San Jose, Nov 2014 to July 2015 (closed)Blackhawk Country Club (AMFA), Danville, CA, July 2011Allison McCrady Fine Art, Orinda, CA, Nov 2010 to Jan 2017 (closed)Sacramento Art Complex, Mar. 2011Studio Seven Arts, Pleasanton, CA, July 2012 to Nov. 2014Shawna Stoney, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 2010 to Jan. 2012Showplace Art (acquired by AMFA), Berkeley, CA, Nov. 2010 to Nov. 2012 (closed)Haven, Burlingame, CA, July 2010 to July 201120th Street Gallery, Sacramento, CA, July 2009 to Dec. 2011 (closed)