Born in Wels, Austria, I grew up in sight of the Alps, playing among 2000-year-old Roman ruins and leftover WWII bomb craters, spent weekends watching
sailplanes and wishing I could fly. My family immigrated to the US when I was 6 years old. A bit of a late bloomer, I learned to ski, rock climb, ice climb, fly
fish, skydive and whitewater kayak as an adult. I’ve been drawing all my life, had lots of art classes in junior high and high school. Did a year at Utah State
University, studying illustration and advertising design, then served a 2-year proselyting mission back home in Austria for my church. Upon returning to the
U.S., I devoted 27 years to graphic design and art direction, gaining experience in photography, offset and screen printing as well (hey–it paid the bills!). I also spent 25 years as a USSF Soccer Referee, Referee Instructor and Referee Assessor. Upon leaving graphic design in 2005, I worked in soccer administration for 10 years, then left to pursue my passion for artistic expression full time.
Being Austrian, I am haunted by the ethereal, dreamlike quality of light in the moisture-laden European atmosphere. I strive to express that longing in my art. Who didn’t love coloring with crayons, traveling to magical realms in our minds as kids? I believe that our ability to visualize, imagine, and fantasize is a gift which comes from Him who is literally the Father of our spirits, the Supreme Creator Himself. Life is about all contrasts–I express the inherent balance and beauty in that with my art. I work primarily in oils, watercolors, occasionally in oil pastels, pencil, pen and ink, and yes–crayons!
Awards & Recognition
Honorable Mention, “Sunflower Season” Utah Valley Artists Guild Spring Salon, Provo, Utah, March 2023
Honorable Mention, “From Boulder to Red Rock” Entrada Institute’s Arts & the Park–Light on Capitol Reef, Torrey, Utah, October 2022
Honorable Mention, “Coloring Outside the Box” Escalante Canyons Art Festival, Escalante, Utah, September 2022
Featured artist in “Escalante Canyons Art Festival,” Southwest Art Magazine, August/September 2022
Second Place, Oils, “Long Canyon” Highland Fling Art Show, Highland, Utah, August 2022
Second Place, Oils, “Fairview Canyon Creek” Steel Days Art Show, American Fork, Utah, July 2022
Honorable Mention, “Scattered Showers” MAA’s Wasatch Plein Air Paradise Competition, Midway, Utah, July 2022
Honorable Mention, “Still Standing” Summerfest Art Faire Plein Air Competition, Logan, Utah, June 2022
Third Place, “Land For Sale” Art On Main Plein Air Competition, Brigham City, Utah, May 2022
“Miles and Miles and Miles” juried into American Impressionist Society’s Associate Member Online Exhibition, April 2022
Honorable Mention, “Layers of Meaning” Utah Valley Artist Guild’s Spring Salon, Provo, Utah, March 2022
First Place, “Northern Reef Evening Light,” Entrada Institute’s Arts & the Park–Light on Capitol Reef, Torrey, Utah, October 2021
“Painting a Nocturne,” Guest Artist Live Demonstration, Escalante Canyons Art Festival, Escalante, Utah, September 2021
Artist in Residence, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Escalante, Utah, September 2021
Second Place, “Daniel’s White Pine Trail,” Highland Fling Art Show, Highland, Utah, August 2021
Second Place, “Nine Mile Paintbrush,” Highland Fling Art Show, Highland, Utah, August 2021
Second Place, “Brigham’s North Forty,” Art On Main’s Plein Air Competition, Brigham City, Utah, May 2021
Second Place, “Morning’s Glory,” Academy Center Art Show, Brigham City, Utah, May 2021
Honorable Mention, “Sanpete Skyline,” Utah Valley Artist Guild’s Spring Salon, Provo, Utah, March 2021
Honorable Mention, “A Good Year For Buttercups,” Utah Waterways Exhibit & Art Show, Salt Lake City, Utah, January 2021
Juror’s Award, “Torrey Homestead,” Arts & the Park–Capitol Reef NP Plein Air Competition, Torrey, Utah, October 2020
Pirst Place, “Olympus’ Shadow,” Plein Air Holladay Competition, Holladay, Utah, October 2020
Second Place, “The Snowville Queen,” Holladay Fine Art Show, Holladay, Utah, October 2020
Guest Artist, Utah Watercolor Society, Salt Lake City, Utah, February 2020
First Place, “Feeding the Horses,” Winter Wonderland Art Show, American Fork Visual Arts, December 2019
FASO’s Bold Brush FAV15% Painting Competition, “Escalante Suburbs” November 2019
Guest Artist, Utah Valley Artist Guild, Provo, Utah, October 2019
Featured Artist in “Fleeting Nature–Collector’s Focus: Landscapes,” American Art Collector Magazine, September 2019
Award of Merit, “Side Pocket, Smoky Mountain,” Escalante Canyons Art Festival, September 2019
“Artists of the West” Guest Artist Live Demonstration, Escalante Canyons Art Festival, September 2019
Guest Artist, Intermountain Society of Artists, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 2019
Honorable Mention, “Fenceline Willows,” American Fork Steel Days Art Show, July 2019
Purchase Award, “Deer Creek’s Last Glimmer,” Wasatch Plein Air Paradise, June–July 2019
FASO’s Bold Brush FAV15% Painting Competition, “Dog Park Afternoon” June 2019
Workshop Instructor – “Fundamentals of Oil Painting,” Highland, Utah, April 2019
Guest Artist, Highland City Friends of Art, November 2018
Honorable Mention, “Tenacious,” Sandy City Arts Guild’s Art Show, October 2018
Third Place, “Dance of the Tamarisk,” Intermountain Society of Artists “Falling For Art” Show, September–October 2018
Honorable Mention, “Ashton’s Refuge,” Highland Fling Art Show, August 2018
Second Place, “Memorial Hill,” American Fork Steel Days Art Show, July 2018
First Place, “Autumn Cottonwoods at Whitewater Manor,” Academy Center Art Show, May 2018
“Probst’s Pasture” juried into show, sold opening night, Springville Museum of Art’s 94th Annual “Spring Salon” April–July, 2018
FASO’s Bold Brush FAV15% Painting Competition, “Spring City Sage” December 2017
Third Place, “Provo River Willows,” Highland Fling Art Show, August 2017
Second Place, “Spring City Sage,” Honorable Mention, “Provo Peak Evening,” American Fork Steel Days Art Show, July 2017
Second Place and People’s Choice awards, “East Mountain Spring,” Highland Fling Art Show, August 2016
First Place, “East Mountain Spring,” Honorable Mention, “Alpine Storm,” American Fork Steel Days Art Show, July 2016
