My grandfather was a professional photographer and so I was raised in a home with a dark room and Speed Graphic. But I didn’t become a photographer until I started oil painting late in life while painting in France in 2007.

As a second-career painter, I took digital photographs to reference the light and shadow back in the studio where I was staying in Vernon, a city in Normandy outside of Paris. I was told that these digital blueprints for painting were worthy of standing on their own. The rest is history.

As a painter, I’m drawn to Monet, Degas, Van Gogh , Kahlo and DaVinci. As a photographer, I am most inspired by Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Gordon Parks and Dorthea Lange. My photography has shown in numerous juried group art shows as well as solo exhibitions. Trips to Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and across North America have provided exotic subjects, of course. Yet, I am just as thrilled by a simple field in Kansas, an old barn in Missouri or by watching the sun rise and set from my car while traveling along Highway 71 through Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana. Often the simplest things provide life’s greatest complexities. Excellent photography can be the result of mentoring, disciplined study and great equipment. Or, it can come from just sheer luck, good timing and a trigger finger. You’ll find in my portfolio all of the above.

Thank you for your interest.
 

chevalier_group@kc.rr.com 

Gallery: