The reason I paint is something I rarely talk about, and I thought it was about time I did so. I would like you to know me a little better and have a good idea about what is behind all these paintings.

First of all, I have been painting since I was old enough to hold a paint brush; that’s a long time. The urge to communicate to other people via visual images is part of the story. The other part has to do with wanting to get a person’s attention using color, drawing them in long enough to see the details of the painting and then lifting their spirits with a light hearted, playful image.

The subjects I paint are, at times seemingly random, but they all have a common thread. They are images I see that have something attractive about them; possibly the patterns of crosswalks, windows, cars, trees, people, dogs, and the chaos of the urban environment. I like to take what I see and translate it into a whimsical scene that people can relate to.

Another entirely different aspect of this urge to paint is my excitement about color and composition. I get a feeling of happiness when I place one color next to another and the contrast or lack thereof is aesthetic to me. It’s a certain feeling of joy that is hard to describe. Regarding composition, it has to be just right and in order for that to happen, it must be interesting to look at and combined with color make sort of a balanced equation. The viewers eye must be invited to travel around the canvas, going from shape to shape and color to color.

Just writing this down, has created even more excitement about starting my next painting.

Stay tuned!