Here seems like a good place to start.

Yesterday I bought a new set of toy blocks for a still life painting I've been plotting for ages. They're fancy wooden blocks with gothic arches and roof pieces reminiscent of St. Basil's Cathedral. I am very excited about these blocks. One of the great perks of painting toys, is that I get to spend many days setting up still lives, i.e. playing with the toys. As I tried very hard to convey in an artist's bio I agonized over today, I love to paint toys. My bio ran something like this:

I paint Sebbie and his friends because I love doing it. Each painting is an entrance into a world of childhood imagination where anthropomorphism is rampant and everyday is an adventure. While each painting is a story in itself, as the series expands I envision a narrative holding them all together. My inspirations are my collections of children's story books and international toys acquired for their personalities; Sebbie himself is a survivor from my own childhood, originally a gift from relatives in Ukraine. I like my paintings to tell a story, even in my landscapes I try to find the characters, be it in the clouds, the trees, or the sheep. I want my audience to have as much fun looking at my paintings as I have painting them.

At least that was until I reread my instructions and realized I was limited to 75 words. The final version was less exciting. I believe to the right there is a picture of my first painting of my marionette, Sebbie. And at the top of the page is a landscape with sheep. The mountain in the background is Craogh Patrick, as seen from Clare Island off the coast of Ireland where I was fortunate enough to live briefly. I'm thrilled to say that I'm going to Alaska for two weeks in June to practice my plein air painting. I'll be sure to document that trip here.

All of that in way of introduction. I've started this blog to supplement the 75 word artist's bios of the world. It seems people want to know more about the artist. I'm hoping by writing about my paintings and inspirations and art related travels around the world, I'll fill in some of the gaps.