About Bert
A Lifelong Creative Journey
My creative journey began in childhood, when my mother first put crayons in my hands, perhaps hoping I would draw on paper rather than the walls. Whatever her motivation, she opened a door that has never really closed.
One of my earliest surviving drawings dates to 1965, when I was in second grade. It depicts our family's summer cottage on Leonard Island in Georgian Bay, where I spent countless childhood summers exploring the rocks and waters, swimming, fishing, and boating.
My mother kept that drawing and carefully documented its history on the back. It remains a wonderful reminder of the encouragement she gave my creative spirit throughout her life.
As a young student, my artistic projects occasionally helped rescue my grades in other subjects. Creativity was already becoming an important part of how I explored ideas and expressed myself.
Discovering Painting
My artistic interests continued to develop during my years at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). As a member of the yearbook staff, I pursued photography, often finding myself drawn to flowers as subjects. Remarkably, I still have some of those early photographs.
It was also at VMI that I first discovered oil painting. During an art appreciation course, our professor encouraged us to experiment with a variety of artistic mediums. Of all the materials we explored, I found myself particularly attracted to oils.
Discovering a lifelong passion for painting within the disciplined environment of a military college may seem a little ironic, but it remains one of my happiest memories of that time. I still have one of the original oil paintings I created there.
A Creative Spirit That Never Left
Like many young people considering their future, I was encouraged to pursue a practical career. The prevailing wisdom was that making a living as an artist was difficult, if not impossible.
I made a conscious decision to pursue a career in business rather than art.
But while my professional life took me into the business world, my creative spirit never disappeared. Art remained a constant thread throughout my life, sometimes quietly in the background and sometimes more visibly expressed through my work.
Over the years, I continued to seek opportunities to develop my artistic abilities. I studied life drawing at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia, pursued fine art studies in Portland, Oregon, and later completed a Diploma in Botanical Illustration at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh.
Each experience added another dimension to my artistic development. My early fascination with sculpture evolved into an appreciation for the dimensional qualities of painting, particularly the ability of light and shadow to transform a two-dimensional surface into something that appears almost tangible.
Looking back, I don't see my years in business as a detour from my artistic journey. That career ultimately provided me with something invaluable: the freedom to pursue my artistic ambitions more fully at this stage of my life.
Rhododendron strigillosum
12” x 10”
coloured pencil on paper
Portraits of Flowers
Today, I work primarily in oil and watercolour, creating highly realistic botanical paintings that celebrate the extraordinary beauty and individuality of flowers.
I think of myself as a portrait painter. A portrait painter of flowers.
Each painting begins with an encounter, a moment when a particular flower captures my attention. Sometimes it is the colour or form, but most often it is the way light interacts with the flower, passing through translucent petals, revealing subtle changes in colour, form, and shadow.
My goal is not simply to reproduce the physical appearance of a flower, but to reveal something of its individual character and spirit.
I want my paintings to invite viewers to pause, look more closely, and experience something of the wonder that first inspired me to paint the subject.
Glorious Gladiolus — A Personal Tribute
Of all my paintings, Glorious Gladiolus holds a particularly special place in my heart.
My mother encouraged my creativity throughout my life, from those first childhood crayons to my continuing artistic pursuits decades later. Her belief in my creative spirit never wavered.
Glorious Gladiolus was inspired by her and painted for her. She was able to enjoy the painting during her final days, making it a deeply personal expression of the bond we shared.
The painting remains a tribute to her love, encouragement, and the important role she played in nurturing my creative life.
Allowing My Creative Spirit to Bloom
My artistic journey continues today through my Master of Fine Arts studies in painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
For much of my life, art was a secondary pursuit, something I nurtured alongside my professional responsibilities. Today, I have the freedom to make it a primary focus, to explore my creativity more deeply, challenge myself, and continue growing as an artist.
Looking back over the years, I realize that what has changed is not my creative spirit, but the place I have allowed it to occupy in my life.
Creativity has always been part of who I am.
Only now have I given it the opportunity to fully bloom.