I often find inspiration and joy in the more subtle details of Nature. It could be viewing a patch of wildflowers and grasses, or glancing into a dense backlit group of trees. The beauty and order that I intuitively sense here is stimulating and often prompts me to explore it further. I want to know the subject beyond observation– to bring forward that essence/spirit as well as the emotion aroused in myself into the formal context of a painting. The hope, desire, and fight is for the image to become “something else”, and as such, a true painting. This visual metaphor is open-ended enough to invite the viewer to bring one’s own history into the conversation.​It is the unknown that is constantly stimulating, challenging, and driving me forward.The way is with the mind clear and the heart open.​During the painting process, I am always waiting for the moment when I can stop imposing myself upon the canvas and listen to what it needs. This “point of freedom” comes when I strive to follow its lead to realize what it wants to be. This is when the canvas starts to become an actual painting, whole and complete unto itself.​Painting, for me, as simply and succinctly as I can say it, is a journey. I only want paint and surface as a means of trying to discover deeper emotional and spiritual connections to Life as I experience it.​​My work primarily falls into one of three series that have been evolving for years...​“Waterscapes”— In these pieces I seek to retain the calm essence of still water, exploring color, light, space and form in an ethereal way. More recently these seem to be morphing into the “Within and Beyond” series.​“Tree Forms”— With these I deal with order—a structure of compressed vertical tree forms, as in a forest. This is the antithesis of the “Waterscapes”.​“Garden Series”— The organic, complex, and seemingly chaotic structures I find in the Garden are mesmerizing. These compositions tend to be more dynamic.