B I O G R A P H Y As a painter, Brad continually challenges himself to create thought-provoking compositions that convey the balance between man and the environment. Many find Brad’s work contemplative and even meditative. Over the twenty years of pursuing this unique style of painting, Brad has been influenced by Eastern philosophy and Native American beliefs concerning the very essence of our existence. In particular, his work freely borrows from several Zen Buddhist principles of design, most notably, the integration of the aesthetic, wabi-sabi. Brad’s interest in wabi-sabi centers around Zen Buddhist concepts which elevate the transcending ways of looking at and thinking about our world and our own existence with Nature. Using this concept, he explores ways to balance opposing forces of natural and man-made objects with an emphasis on the inherent and natural beauty of the aging process. Brad’s style integrates a blend of both abstract and realism in a yin-yang relationship. His highly textural background surfaces are often rendered in a very loose fashion through washes, splatters, runs and glazes on a surface built up with layers of medium, then sanded, scraped and carved. The backgrounds are deliberately modest allowing the viewer to focus on the subject matter, very often placed slightly off-center within the universal symbol of the circle. The circle represents the cycle of life, harmony and completeness. One can see the struggle between Man and Nature in Brad’s work. His subjects are tightly rendered with great attention to detail. He deliberately places objects from nature in precarious and somewhat agitated environments. Leaves become impaled with old nails, creekstones hang from twine, even feathers are sometimes imprisoned under rusted barbed wire. Sometimes he will allow the subject to be in a natural state of floating freedom in front of the viewer. Brad also uses the technique of “trompe l’oeil” (realistic imagery used to create an optical illusion) for even more visual impact. By casting shadows and shading objects rendered in actual size, Brad adds the appropriate background to create the illusion of three dimensions.