Hometown: Lewes, DE

I’ve always been fascinated by maritime culture and my work reflects my admiration and respect for those that make their living on the water. I love the structure inherent in the design of a ship, or the docks and warehouses of a working waterfront. So much of our marine heritage is slowly fading away under the irresistible and relentless pressure of development and, through my work, I hope to preserve memories of what it used to be like to work and live on the water.

I work primarily in acrylics and paint traditional working craft – hard-bitten and over-worked oystermen, crabbers, and menhaden steamers. I seek to capture the toughness and durability of everyday working boats and the sheer beauty and stark terror of the environment they work in. My art is informed by my work as a nationally-recognized ship model builder. Although the two may seem unrelated, each supports and enhances the other. Understanding construction methods, thinking in three dimensions, and working from blueprints and photographs allows me to visualize the boats and ships that become the subjects of my paintings. I have published five books on model ship building and taught for many years at the Wooden Boat school in Brooklin, Maine.

I joined the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA) in 2014 and was awarded Signature Artist status, at the suggestion of my friends and mentors, Joan and Tad Woodhull of the Art of the Sea Gallery. I have been gratified to have my work selected for several of the ASMA National shows since then, including a November 2018 show at the Principal Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina. I have greatly enjoyed collaborating with and learning from several of the ASMA Fellows through classes and other opportunities and would be honored to serve as a Fellow. I understand the trust that ASMA puts in its Fellows, as well as the responsibilities and obligations. It would be a true privilege to be selected.

I was born in Bryn Mawr, Pa in 1945 and attended Owen J. Roberts H.S., graduating in 1963. I graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1967 with a degree in Anthropology and Geology. In my spare time, I created cartoons for the college newspaper and paintings for date money. After graduation – and military service in the U. S. Air Force from 1967 to 1971 – I did store design and advertising production work while I continued to paint.