Serenity is both the driver and the effect of my artistic work. The focus required by representational painting crowds out ricocheting thoughts and restores order to a chaotic internal world. This desire for stillness dictates every aspect of the work, from the inclusion or omission of elements in a scene to the composition and choice of palette.

My use of color can be traced to years of interior design and color consulting. Observing that many paints looked dull and lifeless regardless of hue, I learned that those that seemed rich and complex—as if they glowed from within—were mixed using the full spectrum and without black. To replicate these pleasing and harmonious colors, I use a limited palette comprised of only the three primaries, two secondaries and white, and I mix my own chromatic blacks.

When I am moved by a subject, the art comes together quickly. With other subjects, I often struggle throughout the process. I have nearly painted over many pieces that were 80% complete. When I have persisted, I’ve usually managed to revive the seemingly irredeemable. At any given time, my studio is littered with a dozen such pieces, awaiting my renewed interest. Occasionally, when I return to a painting, I realize it is finished and that I just needed to step away. At other times, I can see with renewed clarity what the art needs.

Whether derived from the natural or built environment, the scenes in my artwork are often desolate, devoid of people, distilled to the essential elements needed to convey a peacefulness that may exist for only a fleeting moment. And in that starkness is a certain drama.

Thus, I seek to create tranquility in my surroundings that, in turn, temporarily quiets my internal world. This is both the genesis and the goal of my work.