I have presented lectures and workshops to universities and institutions throughout the country, including numerous conference presentations. A sample list of some of these can be found at the bottom of this page.

Often times people will ask me about my lectures, presentations, classes, and creative processes. Here are some video links to answer these questions and give you an idea of what its all about!

Cartooning the Landscape

Illustrated History of Landscape Design

Drawing in the Landscape: Painting Color - White and Light

Drawing in Design: Discovery or Illustration?

NYU Florence - The Italian Renaissance Villa Estate: A Sustainable Model

Chip Sullivan - A Day Dream in Rome

2016 North Beach Sketch Crawl


Two of my most popular workshops are on the creative process and watercoloring. Here are brief descriptions of those with accompanying pdfs that you can download for more information:

Creative Process Workshop

"Our salvation lies not in knowing, but creating."

--Nietzsche

This workshop is designed to spark the magic of creativity. Exercises concentrate on perception and the activation of the design process. Visual stimulation is enhanced with a series of unique exercises that allow the participant to animate their design ideas. A site-specific location is the setting for exercises in; panoramic drawing, and sequential story boards. Flip books are created and constructed to animate the conceptual design stage. Each participant summarizes their process with the construction of a pop-up book.

Creative Process Workshop pdf

 

Watercolor Workshop:
The Magic of Watercolor and Other Visual Novelties

"The eye cannot truly see what the hand cannot draw."

--Charles Bell

This workshop will help the participant to develop quick and speedy watercolor techniques for field observation and as an aid to the design process. Almost no other media lends itself to such rapid self-expression. The beauty of watercolor is that it responds quickly to emotion as we record our impressions of the landscape. Some of the methods that will be explored are as follows:

Watercolor it's as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Graded and granulated washes
The visual phenomenon of transparent glazes
Trees, shrubs and landscape representation
Architectural accents
A brief consideration of composition
Get the picture

Watercolor Workshop pdf

 

Invited Lectures and Workshops

Lecture and Studio Charrette, Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO, April 2005

"Garden and Climate," Landscape Architecture Program, University of California Los Angeles Extension, Los Angeles CA, April 2005

"Garden Design: How the Romans Did It," San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, San Francisco CA, March 2005

"A Garden Design Vocabulary for the Future" and "Design and Function of Water Elements at Hadrian's Villa," Hadrian's Villa and the California Garden, co-sponsored by the Garden Conservancy and Pacific Horticulture, Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, Palo Alto CA, March 2005

"Garden and Climate," Gardening Under Mediterranean Skies IV: Exploring California Style, A Pacific Horticulture Symposium, Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Arcadia CA, October 2004

"Garden and Climate," Gardening Under Mediterranean Skies IV: Exploring California Style, A Pacific Horticulture Symposium, Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Garden, San Francisco CA, October 2004

"Energy, Fantasy and Form," Cal Homecoming, University of California, Berkeley, October 2004.

"Garden and Climate," Mediterranean Garden Society, UC Botanical Garden, Berkeley CA, April 2003

"Garden and Climate," Builders Booksource, Berkeley CA, May 2002.

"Drawing and the Creative Process," Virginia Polytechnic State University, Blacksburg VA, April 2002.

"Energy and the Garden," Ball State University, Muncie IN, Fall 1996.

"The World of the Third Dimension," University of Kentucky, Lexington KY, Spring 1996.

"Energy, Fantasy and Form: The Gardens of Chip Sullivan," University of Colorado, Denver CO, 1995.

"Gardens of the Four Elements," San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco CA, 1994.

"Climatics of the Garden," Catholic University, Washington DC, 1994.

"Energy, Fantasy and Form: The Gardens of Chip Sullivan," University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana IL, 1994.

"Energy and the Garden," University of Arkansas, Little Rock AK, 1993.

"Gardens Through Art and Energy," Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC, June 1992.

"Landscape Parts," School of Architecture and Allied Arts, University of Oregon, Eugene OR, 1992.

"Garden Specimens," School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of Toronto, Toronto Canada, 1992.

"Experimental Gardens," University of Washington, Seattle WA, April 1991.

"The Works of the Bizarre," Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo CA, 1991.

"Energy in the Garden," School of Architecture, McGill University, Montreal Canada, 1990.

"Energy and the Garden" and "Landscape as Tattoo," Department of Landscape Architecture, Rutgers State University, NJ, 1990.

"Landscape as Tattoo," Department of Landscape Architecture, University of California, Davis CA, 1990.

"New Forms of the Garden," College of Architecture, State University of New York, Buffalo NY, 1989.

"Landscape as Art," Department of Landscape Architecture, University of California, Davis CA, 1989.

"Garden and Reliquary," Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Gillman-Stein Gallery, Tampa FL, 1988.

"Current Work," Overview Seminar, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 1987.

"Energy, Fantasy and Form," College of Architecture, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, 1987.

"Box, Shrine and Sculpture," The Palladian Center, Vicenza, Italy, 1985.

"Energy and the Garden," College of Architecture, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, 1983.

"The Passive Garden," Environmental Center, Miami-Dade Community College, Miami FL, 1982.

"New Age Gardens," Environmental Center, Miami-Dade Community College Miami FL, 1981.

 

Conference Presentations

"Watercolor Graphics," LABash, National Conference of Landscape Architecture Students, University of Florida, Gainesville, March 2004.

"Analytical Sketches," Representing the Designed Landscape Conference, University of California, Berkeley CA, November 2000.

"Measuring, Drawing and Describing Italian Villas," Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, Annual Conference, Arlington TX, Fall 1998.

"Drawing and the Creative Process," The Design Communication Association Biennial International Conference, Tucson AZ, 1998.

"Landscape as Art," American Society of Landscape Architects Annual Convention, Los Angeles CA, Fall 1996.

"The Experimental Garden," part of Success in Design, the American Society of Landscape Architects State Convention, Florida Chapter, 1992.

"Energy, Fantasy and Form," part of Outer Spaces, Environments We Can Live With, the American Society of Landscape Architects State Convention, California Chapter, 1992.

"Landscape as Tattoo," Council of Educators in Landscape Architects Conference, Michigan State University, Lansing MI, 1991.

"Garden as Icon," Avant Garde and the Landscape Conference, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN, 1989.

"The Historical Garden as a Passive Solar Device," National Passive Solar Conference, Denver CO, 1989.

"Energy, Meaning and Metaphysics of the Garden," Visions and Revisions Conference, University of Arizona, Tempe AZ, 1988.

"Box, Shrine and Sculpture," Meanings of the Garden Conference, University of California, Davis CA, 1987.