STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The themes present in my art work  have one main focus, that being to build an awareness  and appreciation for the environment we inhabit.  It is my belief that we can develop this awareness and appreciation by showing the beauty of our natural world.

I try and celebrate the natural world through the tools of the painters trade. Color, composition and brush marks are what makes these landscapes mine.  It is with these effects that I try and engage my viewer into spending a little time looking at my image, with hopes of developing a sense of the space that I put forth.

Sometimes I am showing the effects that humanity has had on the earth and sometimes my focus is nature's effect on the planet. Both effects should be understood, appreciated and respected. In,"Nothing Last Forever," I show a large farm wagon, broken down rusted and forgotten.  Trees and weeds are growing up around it as if to devour the useless wagon. "Priest House, Monchu Pichu," shows the wisdom the ancient Peruvian builders gained from understanding the tools that nature provides.

"Marshes Along the Hudson," we see the shoreline of the Hudson River gradually loosing it edge to the tall grasses of the nearby land. "Rocks and Grasses," the shoreline of the Pacific Ocean, once again is being challenged by nature. While man and nature both impact the landscape, the beauty of the natural world still remains.

Balance, and the ability to create it, in my work, is a challenge that I face with each painting.  We live in a very balanced world.  Our planet has a powerfully balancing effect on us. Light, dark, cold hot, storm and calm.  We somehow have internalized this balanced system and need to incorporate it in our every day life. The way we move, eat, spend our time, is a balancing act that helps us to feel more comfortable.

I try to accomplish a sence of balance in my compositions so that my paintings look restful and peacefull. I don't create conflict.  I respect it's importance as an aspect of both humanity and nature, however it's just not my way. It's a zen like quality of balance and harmony in my color palette and my compositional sensethat I wish to put forth.  This is my goal as a painter.