My paintings explore clarity found through nature.
I’m drawn to landscapes where light, space, and atmosphere demand attention.
These are environments that don’t reward distraction. Light shifts quickly. Balance matters. You have to be present.
Rather than treating landscape as an escape, I see it as a way to recalibrate—to slow perception just enough for perspective to return.
The tension between control and uncertainty is central to my work, and much of the energy in each painting comes from that balance.
I work primarily in oil, using dramatic light and restrained compositions to create a sense of focus and engagement. Whether the subject is a remote landscape or a more urban environment, I’m interested in places that sharpen awareness rather than soften it.
I believe art can function as more than an image.
At its best, it becomes a reminder of how we want to operate—clear, attentive, and grounded.
That’s the role these paintings are meant to play, providing a visual reference point in a mentally noisy world.
I split my time between painting and pursuits that value discipline and discovery—training, studying markets, and exploring outdoors. These practices inform how I work: patiently, deliberately, and with attention to timing and craftsmanship.
My paintings are created for people who live in complex, busy worlds and value clarity, focus, and perspective.
The work is meant to be lived with—not as decoration, but as a quiet point of reference.
Creativity is a delicate mistress
I love the dance between passion and skill, between knowledge and learning
I think it shows in my work
I come from a background of airbrush illustration, you know, before computers took that over. Before that I had a custom airbrush facility in Las Vegas, painting hood murals and custom Harleys, even backgrounds for casino shows. Before that I even did sign painting, back when hand lettering was an art in itself.
Eventually I got tired of commercial art, so I bought a small camper and spent 4 years traveling the country, just me and my dog. We had some great adventures (this was before cell phones) That's where I really got into oil painting. I was in the woods every day and I had a dirtbike which I'd ride to even more remote places to paint and be inspired by nature.
In the 90s, I stopped my nomadic lifestyle and settled in Jerome AZ where I opened a working Studio/Gallery which I ran for over 20 years. (see studio info below).
I've been working in Oils for about 30 years now.
Today I'm a nationally recognized artist. I've been featured in numerous magazines and have been invited to several national events over the years. I even won some meaningful awards along the way.
The real reason I paint though, is simply because I love it.
Cody closed his Jerome Studio/Gallery in Jerome AZ, where he'd been selling his work for 23years, in Feb of 2021.
He is currently Exploring Europe.
Cody is still accepting painting commissions, with turnaround times usually less than one month.
Contact Cody via WhatsApp or Facebook messenger.
A lifelong student of art, Cody has studied at the Loveland Academy of Fine Arts, as well as the Scottsdale Artists School, where in 2003, he was awarded a Merit based Scholarship. In 2004 the Oil Painters of America selected him as that year's Shirl Smithson Scholarship Winner. In 2009 Cody was awarded a Teachers Scholarship by the Marylin Sunderman Legacy Fund for his innovative workshop techniques.
"I love helping others unlock their creativity"
My interview by Eric Rhodes, editor of Plein Air Magazine and more. You will have to listen through a few minutes of his promos, but he eventually gets around to interviewing me. Give a listen, see what you think.
Cody has been featured in many books - Sedona's Best Artists, Sedona Verde Valley Art, Plein Air New Mexico, Jack Richeson Series - Volume One, The Richeson 75 International - Landscape and Exteriors 2007 and magazines - including the cover of Sedona Magazine (fall 2008 with 3 page color feature) Western Art Collector (many times), American Artist Workshop Magazine, Arizona Highways, Southwest Art, Sedona Monthly, Phoenix Magazine, Mountain Living Magazine (feature article) A 5 page feature article in Plein Air Magazine (June/July 2015) Most recently an 8 page feature article in SouthwestArt Magazine (Feb. 2019).
Cody is a founding member and former Vice-President of the Arizona Plein Air Painters.
Cody is also a dog lover, and cyclist.
Select Awards:
Montgomery Frames Award - 2017 Phippen Museum 43rd Annual Western Art Exhibition and Sale
First Place, Quick Draw - 2017 Sedona Arts Center event at L'Auberge de Sedona
Artists Choice Award - 2015 Grand Canyon Plein Air Invitational
First Place, Painting Category - 2015 Sedona Arts Festival
Two Purchase Awards - 2015 Zion Natl. Park Plein Air Invitational
Best in Show/First Place - 2010 Grand Canyon Plein Air Invitational
Vasari Award - 2007 Sedona Plein Air Festival
