Charlie grew up in a rural home about an hour outside of Chicago. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in fine art and a Master of Arts in art education. He currently teaches art in suburban Chicago. His work relies heavily on portraiture; this stems from the fact that he is an avid reader who prefers biographies about the people he most admires — artists, writers, and people who live outside of convention.

“”When I discover a painting or a piece of music that I  really like, or if I become fully enveloped in a book or cinematic experience, I begin to think about the creator of the piece. I do some research, and if I find him/her to have led an interesting life, it’s likely that I’ll take my explorations to a higher level and begin the thought process that leads to the birth of a portrait. Most of those whom I admire and depict have carved an unusual path and set themselves apart in some manner.

When I set out to paint portraits of a such figures, I read about the subject.  I seek to know more about the lives of those whom I depict than a mere study of their work allows. The work of such minds is often cryptic. Whether it be a result of an elevated IQ, an attempt to push the audience toward higher-level thinking, or a need to keep the public at arms length, those who contribute to the zeitgeist often mask their true selves in the work they leave behind.

This is the mystery that pushes me;  I seek to know my subjects on a deeper level before I paint them. The biographical  genre of literature offers insight, opens doors, and influences the way I paint. My art owes as much to the biographers of my subjects as it does to the work of the subjects themselves. The writers do the foot work. I benefit from their labors.”