B: Buildings

I love looking at buildings. I enjoy drawing them and painting them as well. I think that the combination of design and function is what inspires me most. Buildings are living sculpture, changing every minute with the weather and the light. Each structure draws its life from within and from its relationship to its surroundings.

Artist Andrew Wyeth has been one of my greatest inspirations for my entire life. The buildings of Maine and the Brandywine Valley of Delaware and Pennsylvania were often key elements in his work. He used a very simple and subtle color scheme and relied on the shapes and play of light and shadow to define the image. In the "Widow's Walk," he paints the windows and details so cleanly and simply. The shadows do all of the work, providing definition and temperature.

When I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, there were several popular artists in the area. One of them, John Moll, is someone who I attempted to emmulate and still do today. I had an opportunity to observe him working once and set out immediately to try to copy his process. I have long-since moved forward from that point, but I often hear comparison when I draw a house portrait. I enjoy the challenge of leaving out the right lines and capturing the texture of brick, stone, or wood.

When I travel, I try to take pictures of buildings to gather images of the structures and details. Modern homes are often lacking in the details and dressing of older buildings. These older buildings really put the face on a town or city. I enjoy looking up to see the tell-tale structures that give clues to the history of a building or street front.