My paintings are personal in so many ways. On multiple levels, from the initial selection of the subject all the way to the finished work and the surface on which it is presented, I am communicating a perspective and emotion.

Intertwined within my paintings of land and plants is my opposing desires for freedom and security, intellectual curiosity and by pure emotion, and repulsion and attraction to rural life.

Although my formal choices are somewhat traditional, expression comes in what to leave in and take out of a painting. Composition is also a expression of choice—the way the space is designed with positive space, negative space, and perspective.

Color, too, comes from the deep inside me, communicating my favorite times of day or year. The initial drawing is an important in the paintings and is retained in the finished work. And finally, the medium itself has a tactile quality that is very satisfying—mixing wet into wet to achieve controlled disorder.

my imagery springs from my life
living among these places, and countless others witnessed
and reflects all of my emotions gained while there

emotions are given voice in metaphor
tucked away in hiding among the prairie plants
or in broad daylight along the plains and fields

my desire is escape and hiding, mysterious and new
either from or to myself, I can never be sure

but the pressure to be away and never come back
is relentless and pure, flying away or burrowing under

light and color find their voices

at this point the picture becomes a relationship
with the 2D surface and the materials to complete
my delusion of final control and fulfillment of fantasy

in real life I live, all thorny and uncontrollable
painting is my demon and I attempt to slay
the medium, the technology, the color, the oil
subduing it into something soft and beautiful
like God meant it to be

some people reach for a morning cigarette
and steaming cup
satisfied for a couple of hours

painting is my sip and drag
too long away means discomfort
and finally pain

out of life’s struggles
gems are created
heated in the furnaces of suffering
experiences of peace and joy mixed
with past pain and sorrow
to create wisdom that understands

one step, and then the other
in search of the ultimate beauty
found just over there, or under
ultimately, thankfully, finally
above