After 40 years of painting, I’m more awed and inspired than ever at the challenge of painting. I’ve learned that to really see I have to let go of all of my ideas about what I’m looking at. A full presence of awareness is required for this seeing without thought, without ideas. This presence then seems to facilitate a more spontaneous process of painting, one unencumbered by a plan for a specific outcome. The painting has a life of its own and goes where the process itself takes it. In this, painting has become more an experience of revelation than as something I make happen.

“I’ve noticed that there are two basic experiences I have when looking at paintings. Some, to me, convey the sense of a picture of the subject and others convey to me a sense of the subject itself. The first seems a step removed from reality, the second a step deeper into reality. I think of the work of Sargent, Monet and Van Gogh as examples of the latter. This is my intent and goal as a painter. I’m less interested in making pictures and more interested in creating living images that are a step deeper into the reality of the subject. I strive for paintings that convey an energy of aliveness that is a clear reflection of my experience in seeing and that carry a presence that can be felt as well as seen.