After receiving my BFA from the University of Massachusetts, with high honors, I decided to take a road trip. A trip in which I spent three months in a car, cross-country camping, with not much more than a sketch book and a camera and, of course, some camping gear and occasionally, some food. I was living rather simply, after a grueling program involved in very scientific and serious concerns of the art world of that time. On this trip I fell passionately in love with the great outdoors and the magic of geology and archeology and history of the great mountains, rivers, streams, oceans, trees and the people that inhabit these lands. I had been a “city kid” with urban concerns and not so used to the power of reflection on the simple beauty that surrounds all of us. I have worked as a studio artist and a commercial artist for many years. Meanwhile, I have always been driven to find a spiritual path that inspired me and to find fulfillment. So, one day I decided that my passion was out there — the big world that surrounds me and all its amazing beauty. And that I belong out there. Being a person who loves the outdoors so much I could almost live outside, landscape painting on location is the most perfect choice for my subject matter. Combining being outside with my passion for painting makes the art-making process truly a joy-filled and spiritual experience. As a landscape painter en plein air, I find that being outside observing the ever changing dance of light to be true witness to the face of God. The experience of painting outdoors is awe-inspiring and, at times, humbling. My goal is to capture this experience, defined by color, light and atmosphere and my emotional interpretation of the moment. I work quickly, with large brushes and lots of paint to match the pace of the sun and to keep the scene that I am involved in fresh and energized—the energy that transforms and inspires me. My inspiration often comes from the simple, often overlooked in our busy lifes — a lone boat, or a simple tree surrounded in perfect light. Sometimes, a funny thing happens when I am setting up—I think I have an opportunity to paint a subject that I have designed to be good, challenging, unique, with good light, and then I turn around to get my gear and look up and see something far more paintable. Spontaneity — a painters gift! Sometimes I call these “paintings that paint themselves”. In other words, I didn’t have to move mountains — like the bible says we can! My paintings have often been described as peaceful and serene. I find this assessment to describe the fundamental reason why I paint. I am truly inspired by the peace and serenity of the natural world that surrounds me. Presently, I am trying to capture the beauty and perfection of a location that is endangered or already slated to be developed. "The mind of the painter should be like a mirror which always takes the colour of the thing that it reflects, and which is filled by as many images as there are things placed before it."