Silver Heron Studios

When I was young, I used to stare at paintings in the museum for hours. I still do. How was it that the Old Masters got their paintings so smooth, so fine, so realistic? How did they make the tiny brush strokes when painting hair? What did they know that we have forgotten?

I grew up with that mission in mind. Over the past 30 years, I have become a traditional realist oil painter. I have exhibited in national and international art shows as well as solo exhibitions, and have won many awards for my work. Yet I still find that many of my questions remain unanswered.

As an artist and an experimental archaeologist, I find myself in a unique position to answer these questions. Over the past several years I have been learning the techniques of the Old Masters – preparing panels, grinding pigments, and painting as they would have painted. The more I learn about their techniques, as I study old manuscripts, the more I realize how much more there is to know.