Growing up on the Central Coast of California, I was inspired by the natural beauty of the Monterey and Big Sur area. The raw power and stoicism of the coast drew me in from an early age. Surfing instilled a sense of knowing my place in the natural world around me, as temporary participants against an almost timeless and indifferent backdrop. My paintings strive to capture these fleeting moments of this awareness, amidst the rawness of their environments, and to record this point in time in this particular region. Growing up in the Monterey area also exposed me to many artists and writers, some contemporary and others historical figures. One of these influences was the literary work of Robinson Jeffers, a writer who lived in Carmel and whose writings about early Carmel inspired my paintings, which explore our interaction and relation to the natural world; depicting moments of our awareness and participation in it. A fellow historical Monterey resident, Charles Rollo Peters inspires my appreciation for the beauty in the night, and the richness of mood it has to offer. More than anything my paintings strive to capture a particular mood and sensitivity to feelings. It is through looking at and understanding the world around us, we can discover the nature of ourselves.