Artist Statement

Usually, when I begin a piece, I’m envisioning some combination of colors. I’ll have a vague notion of what I want the painting to look like, but often that will change as I get more deeply into it.

My technique involves applying oil paint to canvas or panel with various tools—palette knives, squeegees and bondo spreaders—then blending and refining with brushes. I often feel that I am discovering the painting as I paint it. Some of my favorite pieces are the ones that surprise me the most.

It is my good fortune to live in a place of great natural beauty that provides me with a never-ending source of inspiration. Though my paintings are mostly abstract, they express my deep feelings for nature.

To me, a painting is successful if people can connect to it emotionally. I love it when visitors to my studio tell me what they see in my work, especially if it’s something that I hadn’t thought of. I think of my paintings as visual poetry or music, creating an emotional environment into which the viewer brings his or her own experience.

My goal as an artist is to create work that is contemplative, that invites the viewer to look beyond the surface of the world and experience its mysteries.