For over 30 years I have been painting in a variety of media; watercolor, pastel, acrylic,and oil.

Watercolor excites me because it is unpredictable. It invites an exploratory spirit.The interaction of pigment with water can achieve luminosity like no other medium. When I paint birds, I often turn to watercolor because I can be wild with the background colors, allowing wet-in-wet movement of the paint to suggest sky or water, tightening control with drybrush to focus details of plumage.

I find soft pastel a wonderful medium for capturing the momentary play of light whether it be in a landscape or a portrait. I feel I am most fully alive, most mentally engaged when I draw or paint. Using charcoal, or pastel, I try to capture that fleeting moment when facial expression reveals character, shows something honest and individual. In all the portraits I have done, this has been my goal, to find that expression which distinguishes a person.

The vast offerings of nature provide the images for my landscapes: a secret quiet cove, dappled by the evening light of the sun, a swift river current bathed in the golden light of autumn, or the quirky gesture of a chicken, showing off amazing features of color and pattern. I use photos for reference, but the real fun begins when I depart from that source material, and use a bit of exaggeration or invention, to add a touch of drama to the painting. during the process of creating, one can be influenced by a myriad of sources, be it music, other artists, color relationships, mood, memories, emotions. What I hope will emerge is a final image that resonates with people.

I want to communicate my love for a particular place in time, a particular moment of being.
I feel the greatest role art can play in our lives is to calm us, and to uplift us. It is my hope to achieve this goal with each new effort.