Memberships

April 2025–Present

I am currently taking art classes with Phyllis Oliver, a Certified Betty Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain instructor and expert colorist. With over 40 years of private teaching experience, Phyllis also served as Adjunct Faculty at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington.

One of the most important lessons I've learned as an artist is how to truly observe what I’m seeing rather than what I think I’m seeing.

Studying perceptual drawing under Bakersfield artist and educator Phyllis Oliver introduced me to the concepts taught in Betty Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. As part of Betty Edwards’ final instructor certification program, Phyllis’ private instruction allowed me to develop skills that have profoundly influenced my work—especially in learning to see negative space and abstract shapes.

Rather than concentrating solely on drawing a horse, a tree, or a mountain, I learned to notice the shapes surrounding them and how those shapes relate to one another. By observing negative space, I gained insights into accurate proportions, angles, and placements, fundamentally transforming the way I view the world.

This new way of seeing continues to shape every painting I create. Whether I’m practicing realism or exploring more contemporary styles, I start by identifying the underlying shapes, values, and patterns of light before considering the subject itself.

Today, I often utilize digital tools to enhance my artistic process—studying compositions, simplifying value patterns, cropping images, and even flipping reference images upside down. These exercises help maintain my focus on observation over assumption, enabling me to produce paintings that are both structurally sound and expressive.

Throughout the years, I have continued to grow through workshops, instructional videos, and independent study, and I’ve gained valuable insights from artist memberships. Each experience has contributed to my evolution as an artist, but my aim has never been to replicate someone else's work. Instead, I draw upon what I've learned to create pieces that reflect my personal experiences and my appreciation for nature, atmosphere, light, emotion, and the quiet connections we discover in the world around us.

Whether painting from direct observation, memory, or imagination, the principles of perceptual drawing continue to guide my practice. They instill in me the confidence to simplify forms, strengthen compositions, and craft paintings that capture not just a location, but also a feeling.

For me, learning to see negative space wasn't just another drawing technique—it fundamentally changed how I perceive the world. It provided me with a solid foundation for expressing not only what I observe, but also the atmosphere, emotion, and sense of peace that I hope each painting conveys.