Education and Experience

I have finally created a website to showcase a small sampling of both my film and personal sculpture work. I want to begin by giving credit to the talented employers I've had the pleasure of working for for over two decades. I thank these employers for having allowed me to photograph my work for my portfolio, and for taking the pictures themselves for me.
The following pictures on this site are copyrighted by my employers/the film production and myself, and are solely for my promotional means. As for crediting the pictures on this site...for 'Angels and Demons' I thank David Anderson (AFX Studio). For 'Passion of the Christ' I want to thank Captive Audience and Drac Inc. For 'Forbidden Kingdom' I want to thank Mark Garbarino (Funhouse). For 'The Mask of Zorro',' Anaconda', and 'Enemy of the State' I want to thank Ken Diaz (KD151 Prod.). For 'Hellraiser 4' I want to thank Kevin Yagher. For 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' TV series, and 'Madonna Bedtime Story' video I want to thank John Vulich Optic Nerve Studios. For the pictures of Nastia Liukin,The Gymnast, I want to thank Vicki Schramm and Luis Garcia.
A special thank you to Dr. Joseph R. Burlin who gave me my first professional chance creating a reconstructive ear prosthetic for Sadie Toon.
I am fortunate to have the family that I do. My parents encouraged and supported me while I took Dick Smith's Advanced Professional Make-up Course. I honed my craft (turning my bedroom into a studio) until I earned Dick Smith's 'Professional Caliber Certificate'. I can't express how much Dick has influenced countless individuals through his art, generosity, and direct honesty. Many years ago he told me, "I'm sure you can make it with more effort." Those words changed my life. Dick advised me further, helping me land my first film job: 'Gremlins 2'. Working on 'Gremlins 2' for my other hero Rick Baker was magical.
My education in painting came from my mother-in-law Janet Church. She learned from Taro Yashima (a great painter, teacher, and childrens' book author/illustrator). Janet taught me the 'tools' of art; direction, proportion, negative space, using warm and cool colors, tonal relations, and much more. Some of these same concepts work well in sculpture (in addition to the intended two-dimensional art). My wife Holly (Janet's daughter) carries on the teaching tradition here in Whittier at Clayton's Framing/Janet's Art School.
I teach one day a week at Otis College of Art and Design in Westchester, CA. Otis lifedrawing instructor Gary Geraths and digital media dept. chair Harry Mott created the class 'Sculpture for 3-D Artists' for me to instruct. In my class, students who solely create digital imagery get their hands into clay. From this, they learn realistic form (of how light plays on the modeled surface). I teach naturalistic head and figure sculpture. The students also learn how to decipher picture reference into three dimensional clay. Here's where principles from Janet's teaching come into play...direction lines, proportion, negative space, etc. I am amazed at what the students can do, from never before having sculpted. I am blessed to have this teaching position.
I am a sculptor member of the California Art Club (est.1909). At this year's 98th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition, I was honored with the 'Artist Advocate Certificate of Excellence for Most Outstanding Sculpture' for 'The Gymnast (Nastia Liukin).'
Some other film and TV jobs of mine include: 'Frost/ Nixon', 'Terminator 2', 'Angels and Demons', 'Get Smart', '300', 'Charlie Wilson's War', 'The Nutty Professor', 'The x-Files', 'Roswell', 'Angel', and 'ER'.
I love the historical sculpture work of Malvina Hoffman, and Charles R. Knight. My late friend Peter Kermode is another inspiration.
Scroll on and enjoy the art.