Artist's Statement

I began painting after many years of learning to see and contemplating what I had to say through my art. Finally, I realized that the scene held the message and it became my objective to paint the feeling of the landscape, the temperature, time of day and emotions evoked by spending time in each place. Quite often, the calm and solitude felt while getting away into the trees, near a river, in the cool shade is just what I need to re-center myself. I hope that the same feelings are conveyed through my paintings.

My painting process begins with a very loose sketch to plan the composition followed by an underpainting to block in masses of shapes. When painting in oils, the underpainting is a loose wash in three to four values, sometimes in local color, other times in compliments or even in a burnt reddish orange. When painting in pastel, I also do an underpainting using thin washes of oil, watercolor or water used to dissolve a thin layer of pastel. Once the underpainting drys, I build layers of soft pastel over top. My pastels are primarily painted on sanded papers.

The majority of my paintings are done en plein air, weather permitting. This is a great challenge that I feel helps me see special colors and depth that I can incorporate into my paintings.