Born and raised in the Los Angeles area I am heavily influenced by the sights and sounds of the city but drawn to those special places that surround the city and offer a respite from the hustle and bustle. My long career as a geologist heavily influenced my paintings, seeing not only the landscape with a painter's eyes but also as a scientist looking at the landscape and the geologic events that created it. As I matured as a painter I realized that my city's landscape could often be as rewarding as the rural landscape. Hollywood, Paris, New York, Washington D.C. provided me with a different energy than L.A.'s chaparral landscape and I became addicted to it. Recently, my wife and I moved out of the city and to a true rural lifestyle in central coast wine country. My work has invariably returned to the landscapes of my chosen countryside - the vineyards, the coast, and the natural habitat of San Luis Obispo County....and I couldn't be more excited.