Heavy Snow in Cheeseman Park

"Realism and abstract-it's all the same to me. The real essence of painting is the dialogue between shapes, tones, colors, textures, edges, and line. Everything else follows-including light, form, concepts personal beliefs and inspirations. For me, painting is a marriage between the mastery of those 'basic visual elements; the discoveries and understanding of visual statements (the search for what is true on a personal level artistically); and the trust in ones own wordless intuition and inspiration. Understanding gives rise to higher understanding. Working this way allows me to open the door to new ideas and inspirations. One day I may be interested in a color statement, and the next may be a relationship of simple shapes, and the next an extremely complex arrangement of texture and edges...With every painting there is a singular visual thought to be completed."