I first became interested in birds when I was 10 or 11 years old. Soon after I discovered the artwork of John James Audubon who has been a huge influence on me ever since. At a young age I traveled around the United States, Canada and Europe with the Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, The American Birding Association, and Vermont Institute of Natural Science to learn about and study the birds of these different regions. I particularly enjoyed making drawings and paintings of the birds I encountered on these trips. I attended Bard College and the University of Vermont where I studied studio art and ornithology respectively. After graduating I worked for the Smithsonian Institute and The Nature Conservancy where I focused on bird conservation and field research. I currently live and work in Burlington Vermont. I hope to share with the viewer my passion for and interest in the natural world. As a child and young adult I was able to approach birds and nature in a very innocent and naive way. However, more recently this interaction has become more detached and fragmented for me. My career in the sciences as well as my lifestyle in a culture that feels very alienated from the natural world has colored what was once a very pure and uninhibited experience. I want to impart these sentiments to the viewer while at the same time celebrating a subject matter that has always been a central part of my life.
