On American Poetry and My Art
I was first introduced to American poetry and fell in love with it as an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois in the summer of 1987. The professor who taught that Introduction to American Poetry course was a gentle, kind, and lovely teacher who made us read poetry everyday, asked us to keep a journal–a written record of feelings and of reflection on what we read, and encouraged us to pursue not only the beauty captured in the works of the masters –Sandburg, Emerson, Whitman, Dickinson, Frost, Stevens, Williams, Moore, and Bishop–but also in their often overlooked or overshadowed contemporaries.
And thus Miles, Swanson, Moss, Justice, Hollander, Herschberger, Ceravolo, and many others found us, spoke to us, and comforted and inspired us. The wonder of those eternal summer afternoons continue to resonate within me, and you will find traces of those echoes woven into the texture of my art. I do not have the words to describe how I feel and what I see in American poetry–a simple, elegant beauty, unadorned by pretensions and perhaps best exemplified by Sandburg’s Chicago Poems. I can say that without them my art would be very different. For you, my fellow travelers and poetry readers, I offer this: if ever a particular American poem resonates deeply with you with a verse that stirs your soul, and you envision it translated into visual form, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will strive to bring your vision to life.
For those who have not yet experienced this beauty, I hope you start the journey one day, perhaps with the Oxford Book of American Poetry, by David Lehman, Oxford University Press. To borrow from C.S. Lewis, “..here are beauties that pierce like swords and burn like cold iron.”
How this art will come from me to you
What you see on these pages is a labor of love that I’m excited to share with you. Some of these pieces took a very long time to create. To make them all accessible, I digitized everything using NanoPixel Technology, which allows high-quality printing on any size or material (paper, canvas, wood, glass, or metal).
This approach has two differences from traditional art sales:
- Printing Costs: Since each piece is printed on demand, there’s a printing cost associated. The price you see on each artwork’s page covers printing, shipping the print to me for inspection, numbering, signing, and then shipping it to you. I don’t profit from this process.
- Quality Control: While I’ve carefully chosen the best printers in North America and Europe, mistakes may happen. I order test prints and personally inspect everything. If a print doesn’t meet my quality standards, I won’t ship it to you. I’ll work with the printer until I’m satisfied and you receive a perfect piece.
Exclusive Digital Rights
For some of these artworks, I have also digitized the entire process from first sketch to finish. They will be available to you if you choose to purchase the exclusive digital rights to a work. This means the painting will never be sold to anyone else, and you will own the rights to all the sketches, draft, studies, or various digital versions of the work. I do not offer this option with every painting, or to everyone. Please reach out if you are interested.
