Artist Statement
My paintings express my feelings and ideas filtered through my observations of the natural world.
I paint outdoors from life. I enjoy the difficulty and immediacy of this process and the time spent alone in wild places. If I prefer unruly landscapes to calmer views I guess it is just a reflection of my own character. I am also continuously amazed at how nature creates order out of disorder. How the most seemingly chaotic tangles and jumbles all seem to have their own perfect design. I wonder if human activity viewed from a distance might display this same logic.
The emphasis on detail in my landscapes is a reflection of my belief in the importance of the individual and the individual’s contribution to diversity. A bough of leaves is no more a flat mass of green than any one group of people are identical in their convictions and capabilities. In every branch, rock, and cloud I paint I try to demonstrate this idea.
I have always found contemplating the beauty and complexity of the natural world to be a therapeutic antidote to the stresses and inadequacies of our own lives. I hope that my paintings can bring some of the magnificence, grandeur, and exuberance of nature into the daily lives of those who hang my works on their walls.