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Spending a day with, and taking lessons from, Robert (Bobby) Cardinal in his North Truro, MA studio.  Cardinal is a preeminent Cape Cod artist and owner of Kiley Court Gallery in Provincetown.  He studied art at La Grande Chaumiere Art School in Paris.

About

I am a northern California artist who grew up under the generous skies and open spaces of rural Wisconsin, and near the endless shores of Lake Michigan.  As a result, my work often searches for a wide open place in the human spirit—a space where there is room for both the past and future and a horizon that is big enough to house the hopes, thrills, and anxieties of day-to-day life.  Beneath the surface, both my painting and writing explore paths between the spiritual and physical, the simple and complex, and between completeness and absence.

 

I’ve always been drawn to the works of artists like Anne Packard, James Wyeth, Milton Avery, Wolf Kahn, Jasper Johns and especially Robert Cardinal, who has been described as a psychedelic Winslow Homer.

 

My paintings try to capture the serene, yet exhilarating, energy found in coastal environs across the country.  For me, painting with oils is adventurous.  Oils allow the painting to evolve as a result of editing, blending and experimentation—much like life itself.

 

 

Representation & Background

My work is represented by Kennedy Gallery in Midtown Sacramento, 

The Leigh Gallery in Chicago and Local Color Gallery in Union Pier, Michigan.  My paintings also make frequent appearances on several television and movie sets including Chicago Fire and Chicago MD.

 

I currently serve as a panelist for the California Arts Council's grant review program.  Previously, I was appointed by the Governor of Illinois to serve as a panelist and judge for the Illinois Arts Council's Arts-In-Education Residency Program, and served as Chair of the Cultural Arts Commission for the City of Elgin.  My cousin, Paul Dresang, is considered one of the top American potters of the 20th century.  His works are in the permanent collection of art museums around the world including the Smithsonian Museum-Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C., and the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento.

 

Recent Shows

  • Impulse, ARC Gallery in San Francisco, CA

 

  • Art Attack in Union Pier, MI

 

  • Third Coast, Elgin Arts Showcase in Elgin, IL

 

  • Citergy, Harris Theatre Gallery in Chicago, IL

 

 

Honors

  • National Communicator Award for Design from the International Academy of Visual Arts

 

  • National DeRose/Hinkhouse Award for Exhibit and Museum Design

 

 

Facilitating a Town Hall Meeting titled, "Arts, Culture and Economic Prosperity" with Randy Cohen (right), vice president of research and policy for Americans for the Arts in Washington D.C., and Ra Joy(left), executive director of Arts Alliance Illinois.

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