Most love stories begin with an infatuation. Mine began in the autumn of my early childhood. Under a pile of freshly raked leaves I buried that naiveté that is natural to someone who has not yet loved. Looking up through the leaves, smelling the ripeness of that season’s fallen beauty, I was captured and began my journey to better understand nature through art.

Nature, like art, is neutral; how deeply a person is moved by either speaks to the knowledge, understanding, and love one brings to it. A poem in a foreign language will not elicit an emotion, but knowledge and familiarity can bring deep feeling.

I have worked in oil, gouache, watercolor, but my medium of choice is acrylic.  I prefer to work on a wood panel rather than canvas because I have more control over the surface texture. My palette is a simple Tupperware (egg tray).  I use water as my paint medium.  I paint from my own experiences, but do use original photographs for my references.  I long ago traded in my hunting bow for a camera.

The process is difficult to explain and I am not sure of it myself. I know that through my many outdoor activities I am recharged and the need for adventure is fulfilled and from such experiences of mystery and wildness come visions of paintings.