I paint when it "bursts"...something within that needs to paint. At times I become so absorbed I wish I could crawl inside the canvas.My work and appreciation for the arts comes from my upbringing, my studies, living overseas, and within myself. I was raised on a ranch in Arizona, and my adolescent years were a fairly simple "out in the country" way of life. I later then spread my wings living in Brazil and Africa, intertwined with travels to Europe.When I paint, it is an response to many things, layers of reflection...soulfulness. I get pleasure from paint! I like how smooth it is, yet it can be applied to produce texture. I like the freedom that art gives, the sensation, and when I've finished a painting it is the sensitivity of certain lines and the boldness of other lines that intrigue me and then draws me to paint another painting. I like creating images, mostly figures,...sometimes one or sometimes several at once that then become one. I let the spontaneity of my work surprise me. The shadows that lie beneath and the colors that interconnect with each other is what compels me to create art that has movement, that has life...that can have more than one message.I grew up where there was nothing to stop my view...no large building, mountain, thick forest...just open land for miles and miles. I would lie in the grass and imagine the whole universe while simultaneously entertaining myself by looking at the smallest insect. At times I would envision myself giving my life to something great, to die young, sacrifice everything, to suffer for a cause. I'm a little embarrassed about this now probably because the desire stemmed more from an imaginative mind than any nobler cause. But despite the embarrassment the desire persists. I stand in awe of humanity and nature, for the sacrifices given in that of living life and giving life. It is there I feel compelled to whisper and tread the ground lightly. It is there I am sanctified and feel an upward pull. For in many things of life I stand as a visitor and am left to contemplate what sacrifices I have not made and the battles I have not fought.