I paint a variety of subjects, both portraits and landscapes: the outer banks of North Carolina providing the inspiration for much of the latter. Over the years, I have painted the sky, sea, and dunes and each time I discover something new in the process. While these landscapes are timeless, the use of light and shadow describe the time of the day, the season and add to each painting’s context.

I was not trained as an artist, but as a doctor. My ambition to become a surgeon was realized, thoroughly enjoyed and I prospered enough to afford to paint as an avocation and, after retirement, as an obsession. Why is art and painting so compelling? Is it in the genes? My great-grandmother and grandfather were artists (from each side of the family) but were so remote I doubt they count.

As a schoolboy and teen I sketched objects around the house and neighborhood "just for fun." A neighbor at the beach was a weekend plein air painter who took me along to paint the boats and morning skies. I became hooked on the problems of color, value, and painterly application of paint. Drawing was a toss up between accurate rendering and "going impressionistic."

Making art is not easy. It requires much thought and practice - challenges which lure and fascinate would-be artists

As you proceed through this collection of some of my recent work, I hope you will see some maturity in style and technique, but I also hope you will see the schoolboy, grown old, who still likes to paint diverse subjects around him, you know, "just for fun."