Artist autobiography, elegant landscape, seascape and abstract fine artist

---

 About the artist:

I am a mostly self-taught artist from central Connecticut. I graduated from Wilcox Tech and then Waterbury State Tech with degrees in Computer Aided Drafting and Design. I also have some additional classes and certificates from Middlesex Community College and Manchester Community College. I have approx. 35 years’ experience working as an aerospace draftsman, mechanical process engineer, plant manager and inspector but my true passion in life has always been creating artwork. Because of some severe personal health problems, I have not done much to share my art with others until now. With the help of my beautiful Filipino wife this website has been created and it is my wish to bring happiness and joy to all those who visit this site!

Since I was little, I always enjoyed drawing and coloring. Most often I would draw cars or aircraft and use Crayola colored pencils, crayons or markers to add value to them. As I got older my work improved. Artist creations are usually a reflection of his or her individual nature. In my case I had wanted to really be a policeman, be a pilot or design cars. Although I passed all the exams I was turned down by both state and local police departments and the U.S. Air Force because of my eyesight. I had then started working in aerospace and the Cad system I worked on became another outlet for art.

In an attempt to break away from the usual things I drew and to expand my horizons I began to mettle with oil paints in my mid-twenties. As my talent grew, so did my opportunity to purchase higher quality art supplies. This led to me dabbling in other mediums such as acrylic, pastel and watercolors.  Some of my other interests include anything outdoors, hiking, biking, kayaking, mineral shows, my cats and my dogs. I love the use of color and I love the spring and summer time, so my current art tends to reflect this. Some of my favorite subjects to create are nature, ships, architecture, animals, abstract and technical illustrations. I like to do works of extreme detail as well as impressionistic works of art.

2023 – Honorable mention in the Visitors Choice Awards category at the Weir Farm National Historical Parks Art in the Park Contest for my oil painting “Simple Life”.

2023 – Accepted Associate Member into the Oil Painters of America, the first national organization established for the sole purpose of representing traditional, representational oil painters within Canada, Mexico and the United States.

2022 – 2023 - U.S. National Park Service (https://www.nps.gov) featured my oil painting “Barnyard Jubilee” to promote Weir Farm National Park in Connecticut on their website and their social media platforms.

2022 – 2nd Place winner in the Visitors Choice Awards category at the Weir Farm National Historical Parks Art in the Park Contest for my oil painting “Barnyard Jubilee”.

2022 – Gallery showing of my pastel and colored pencil piece “Argia at Mystic Seaport” published online in the National Cancer Survivors Day summer exhibit at the Valentine H. Zahn Community Gallery (The Gallery at Middlesex Health Shoreline Medical Center) in honor of my sister and mother.

2022 – Connecticut Historic Gardens continues to use my acrylic & oil painting “The Magnificent Garden on their various websites and blogs to advertise the fifteen Connecticut State Museums and poster contest.

2022 – Opened Magnificent Art Studio in May as a sole proprietorship.

2022 - “The Magnificent Garden” is published as part of a notecard set available for purchase at all fifteen Connecticut Historic Garden locations.

2021 – The following colored pencil paintings were digitally published in Colored Pencil Magazines art competition; “Ferrari Portofino, 1938 Elgin Bluebird, Execution Rocks Lighthouse, Brilliant at Mystic Seaport”.

2021 – Invited to be the feature artist exhibit and garden Plein Air painter at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme Connecticut for Connecticut’s Historic Garden Day which included the original oil painting “The Magnificent Garden” along with some of my other colored pencil paintings, acrylic paintings and pastels.

2021 – “The Magnificent Garden was registered into the Haddam Historical Society (haddamhistoryblogspot.com).

2021 – Winner of the 8th Connecticut Historic Gardens Day Poster Contest for my acrylic and oil painting entitled “The Magnificent Garden” which will be used to promote Historic Garden Day on Sunday June 20, 2021 at the following fifteen Historic Gardens in Connecticut throughout the year.  Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden, Butler-McCook House & Garden, Florence Griswold Museum, Glebe House Museum & The Gertrude Jekyll Garden, Harkness Memorial State Park, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Hill-Stead Museum, Osborne Homestead Museum & Kellogg Environmental Center, Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden, Promisek at Three Rivers Farm, Roseland Cottage, Stanley-Whitman House, Thankful Arnold House Museum, Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, Weir Farm National Historic Park.  The painting is digitally published on all of the websites for each museum.  It will be published as part of a notecard set including the other seven previous winners available in 2022.  Also 30 posters were autographed to be raffled off at the gardens and about an equal amount autographed, framed and given away to friends.  Larger posters were also published to promote each of the garden museums and Connecticut tourism. 

2021 – Creation of my own personal Website.

2020 – Wallingford Magazine First Annual Art Show, One of Only 30 Artists selected to have my painting “Primary Storm published in the Holiday Issue of Wallingford Magazine and published on their WACA website, recipient of the Robert & Patricia Fritz Merit Award for my Acrylic Paint Pouring Entitled Primary Storm.

2004 – Best Grey Scale Collage, Middlesex Community College                             

  Donated to the Art Department.

2004 – Best Modern Contemporary Art Work, Middlesex Community College 

  Donated to the Art Department.

2004 – Two Dimensional Design 1 & 2 Middlesex Community College.

2000 – Commissioned Oil Painting of a red rose.

1999 – Helped design the floor plan for the new welding department at Spartan Aerospace.

1997 – 3rd Place Category: Best Use of Color for painting “Tropical Airport” in Mixed Emotions Art Show at Easel Works in Wallingford Ct.

1995 – 1997 Adult Oil Painting Class at Easel Works in Wallingford Ct.

1991 – Duchess Restaurant Cruise Night Automotive Art Exhibit.

1990 – Contracted to design the Floor Plan for Paul’s Produce Center in Wallingford Ct.

1989 – Commissioned Drawing of a Kawasaki Motorcycle.

1989 – Commissioned Drawing of a Corvette.

1989 – 1991 Associates Degree in Computer Aided Drafting and Design, Waterbury State Technical College.

1988 – Earned a special private tour of Sikorsky Helicopters because of my helicopter illustrations.

1988 11th Grade – 1st Place Design the Vehicle of the Year 2000.

1985 – 1989 Technical Degree in Drafting and Design, Top of Class, H.C. Wilcox Regional Vocational Technical High School.

5th Grade – 1st Place Best Optical Illusion.