“I remain passionately dedicated to drawing and painting the human figure, and to the continuity and renewal of painterly language. Often fractured by the rigors of daily life, it is a constant refocusing of energy and time to continue to make art, yet the art still gets finished. “We artists revel in the process of applying pencil to paper or paint to canvas. The joy of making a colour “work”, or depicting the nuance of a cast shadow, or changing an expression with just a flick of the brush -- these are what bring the passion alive, and creativity expands ten-fold when artists gather to interact and debate and that is why we tend to gather in “colonies” like Port Townsend, yet obstinately seek refuge in solitude."

“I have been asked ‘Why do you paint?’ The obvious and only answer is that I paint because I must. And I choose to make art that is beautiful, expressive and representational of all women."

“As a matured artist I choose to turn my back on the ugly, violent anti-art of the last half-century and to look for the beautiful possibilities that art can be. I want my work to stir people and to create a lasting, meaningful, emotional response. Although we painters must constantly refer to the lessons of the old masters, we still must acquire and maintain the difficult skills of drawing and painting . I remain passionately dedicated to representing the human figure and the plein aire landscape, and to the continuity and renewal of painterly language. It is a constant refocusing of energy and time to continue to make art; yet the art still gets finished."

“We artists revel in the process of applying pencil to paper or paint to canvas. The joy of making a colour “work,” or depicting the nuance of a cast shadow, or changing an expression with just a flick of the brush -- these are what bring the passion alive. Creativity expands ten-fold when artists gather to interact and debate and that is why we tend to gather in “colonies” like Port Townsend, yet we obstinately seek refuge in solitude."

"My main medium of work right now is oil painting, along with its parallel medium of acrylic. I love the tradition of oils. I love the smell. I love the fact that the linseed oil of the paint and the linen of the canvas come from the same plant. I love the subtle differences in the 100 or more colours of reds that are available. Red is the colour of all life. The very greens of field and forest look better when underpainted with reds, either warm or cool depending on the condition of the light and the time of day. All my figure paintings begin with a laying in of red."

"A new painting begins usually by appearing in my mind, I see it there, ready for me to paint, almost as if I have painted it in another life. It is just a matter of setting it down on canvas, layer after layer, starting with rich, transparent dark glazes and finishing with opaque lights. I rarely work from photos as I can never seem to get the living person from a photograph."

“I try to focus myself to do a painting/drawing a day, and found that my skills of observation and rendering have increased tremendously. Always working from life, plein aire, is a new enthusiasm, and I find myself more and more often dragging my French easel around in its little cart, over hill and beach and city street, to paint outdoors. These landscapes do not seem to be very cheerful, just dark and brooding, but that is what I see. And I paint what I see."

"I know a painting is finished when there is nothing left to do."

January 2008