When I work with paint, I am energized by the sense of balance I feel throughout the process. Color and line quality allow me to express my subject through a depiction of light. As I begin each work, I am always inspired by my subject’s mood. My aspiration is to serve as a channel between the substance of the model and the physical representation on canvas. I enjoy the process of each work, and I am content when the finished work reflects that constructive path. Each successful piece leaves me inspired to begin the next.

I choose materials to manifest a mood, and achieve a representation of the model and surroundings. The palette knife is one of my favorite tools, which I often use to create bold, vibrating personality and to cultivate a focal point on the canvas. Alternating knife work with brush stroke offers me an opportunity to employ a whole range of line quality. I enjoy the effects of both cool and warm light, and work with a wide vocabulary of color to shift temperature. When working in watercolor, I relish the opportunity to incorporate uncontrolled events into the process; with oil paints I always experience a sense of forgiveness and patience.

I am currently working in oil portraiture, with a mix of both oil and watercolor landscape. Landscape painting has been a mainstay for me over the years, and I’ve just recently come to see the human face as a sort of changeable landscape, emanating a person’s history and experiences. My biggest challenge is to achieve an accurate representation without getting bogged down by technical accuracies. I’m never willing to sacrifice the spontaneity and joy of painting.

When my work is progressing well, I feel a sense of gratitude and am inspired to begin my next project. A successful piece is complete when it reflects my subject’s essence. I hope that when clients explore my work they enjoy their own experience of inner beauty manifested on the canvas.