A lifelong artist, I have lived in San Francisco since 1990. In October 1996 I had an inspirational trip to the desert (there have been many). I decided it was time to focus all of my creative energy on my visual art. In 1997 I escaped from a deadening job in the financial district. Within months I was showing and selling my work.

I grew up in Buffalo and on Cape Cod. Before San Francisco. I have also lived in Boston, Sweden and Switzerland. I have travelled extensively through Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America. In recent years most of my travels have been in the Western U.S. I make a number of trips each year to various desert spots. My approach to my work is influenced by the place I live as well as the other places I have spent time and continue to visit.

There are many artists I admire, one in particular is Charles Burchfield. Burchfield captured Buffalo probably better than any other artist. When I was a child, Buffalo still had not changed much since Burchfield painted it in the 1930's. Even today, it looks pretty much the same. In 1900 Buffalo was at the height of its power. For my entire lifetime it has been a declining city of factory closings that still waits for its comeback. Buffalo is the Norma Desmond of American cities with the ambience of an Ilya Kabakov installation.

That said, the tough times Buffalo has faced and it's air of decline have inspired my appreciation of old junk. A great deal of my work incorporates items I have rescued from yard sales, thrift stores and recycling bins. I often am disturbed to see things like photos and momentos that had been invested with such personal energy, ending up discarded and forgotten. I feel privileged when I can give these objects new life and incorporate them into works of art.

Another artist I admire is Edward Hopper. The ubiquitous descriptions of his work describe loneliness, solitude and isolation. Am I the only one who gets it? It's not loneliness. it's quiet and calm. It's a a quiet city early on a Sunday morning. It's the off-season. I am fortunate to be old enough to remember the off-season on Cape Cod before suburbanization. Most of my work is about conveying a sense of calmness.

I have had a lifelong love of travel and maps. As a child growing up on the Canadian border, we frequently went to Canada for shopping, trips to the beach, etc. I feel this early realization of the existence of borders, their importance and the artificial nature of them has stayed with me and continues to play a role in my work.I have been using maps in my mixed media work for many years.

In January 2001 I started using maps exclusively in my collage work. Within a short time, maps became the main medium in my work. Though I do take occasional breaks from working with maps and spend time painting.

When I am not making art, I often can be found looking at art. I am a frequent museum visitor at home and on the road. Since 1999 I have worked at Gary Hutton Design for a few days every week. It is the "perfect" job allowing me enough time for my artwork but also providing a steady income.

Photo by David Wilson