In 2006, he originated the "American Verismo" movement while teaching at the Maude Kerns Art Center in Eugene. According to his statement:
"I have a strong interest in the "poetica del vero" schools of painting, mostly derived from Italian influences. This can be translated as "the poetry of life or truth" and is associated with working directly from nature as in plein air painting, namely an appreciation of the oil sketch and alla prima (a direct attack) mode of painting which I apply not only to landscape but also to portraiture and figurative work."
An arts activist in his adopted city, Eugene, Oregon, he founded the popular Salon des Refuses art exhibit and played a major role in the establishment of Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts (DIVA) and other arts groups. His movement "American verisimo", is inspired by the Italian I Macchiaioli and his own experimental work. Currently, he lives and works in Eugene and partly in Italy. His exhibit in 2002 at the prestigious Galleria d’Arte La Borgognona, Rome, Italy was reviewed by the Roman newspaper, Corriere della Serra.
