The process of painting drives me, experience and ritual becoming as central to the painting as the composition.  I often leave the structure of the painting showing; charcoal lines and under painting become part of the finished piece. I strive to paint from an instinctual level letting color and form drive my painting. Much like a writer writes about what he knows, I often paint what I see outside my windows and in my home.  I am drawn to graphic images and I like to paint color and form in accidental still lives, natural landscapes and interior spaces that change with the shifting of light.  Many of my current paintings contain flowers and vases.  As I live with these objects and in these interiors they have taken on figurative qualities. The vases, opaque or crystal glass have become symbolic self portraits.  Simple objects that take on physical qualities combined with strong marks that convey emotion and energy.  These marks have become a metaphor for deep emotions from joy to sadness, transforming everyday objects into a personal narrative.