Decades of work and study have led me to realize that great art is the product of a number of things. Looking beyond the level of technical proficiency a “painter”, in order to become a fine “artist”, must possess a personal vision and be able to convey it to the viewer. That vision may manifest itself in realism, abstraction, expressionism, impressionism, or any other “ism” that has found its way into our language over the centuries. We realize today that great art need not be “pretty” art. Greatness is that which makes us feel something that is unique and lasting. It can be pleasing to the eye and decorative as well, but its true quality will lie in its continuing power to make us think and feel while it also stands the tests of time, fads and ever changing connoisseurship. 

I have had the luxury, when pursuing my own painting, to absorb great influences while still constantly experimenting to convey a personal vision. Influences upon me have been many and varied from the sheer brilliance of Turner’s compositions and incident light to van Gogh’s ability to convey movement through undulating line and bold impasto and the Impressionist’s willingness to break with centuries of tradition and sacrifice detail for overall effect. 

Through experimentation comes evolution. Evolution results from the avoidance of “formula” painting and its inevitable repetition of style, subject and interpretation. My preference over the years has been to delve into several means of expression to convey my personal visions. The excitement and artistic stimulation garnered from treating varying subjects in a multitude of styles has freed me to enjoy my artistic experience to the fullest. I have painted for myself never repeating a painting nor having the desire to do so. The thought of waking each day to painting the same subject in the same way does not appeal to me in the least. If an artist cannot enjoy the process of creation, how can he or she expect the viewer to enoy the result? 

My personal visions essentially lie in trying to capture the elements of nature as they impact upon the environment and its inhabitants. A landscape, a city, a lake, a bird---all are stages and players used to capture feelings of light, wind, heat and cold. Humanity is only secondary to the physical and natural wonders which surround us. I Paint nature with a concern for what its elements make me feel more than what they make me see, and movement is what is felt most. Not only the movement caused by the wind, but also the flowing, pouring forth, vibrations of light. Light not only illuminates a painting; it moves through it, bouncing off objects as well as fusing with them. These natural elements are yet beyond a painter’s ability to abstract them.

While striving to understand, define and interpret that which really has no boundaries there is no concerted effort to abstract subject matter in search of uniquesness of expressions. There is little need to shatter objects and images or confuse the eye in search of originality. While there has, on occasion and during experimentations a “bending” of the visible truth, reality has remained at the center of my inspiration. It is my hope that my visions can find viewers that understand, are moved and find lasting pleasure in gazing upon my works.