I began painting as a way to reduce stress and express my creativity, starting with acrylic paints and moved into oils. Once I’d tried them, I never looked back. I love painting in oils because it is easy to flow and change as I go along. I believe that more layers equates to more depth in an image. My main goal as a painter is to develop more as an “expressive” artist—better able to convey my feelings about the subject through color and light.

First I choose subjects that appeal to me personally. I have truly found that trying to paint without an emotional connection is very difficult—almost boring. So I choose to paint something because I like how the colors and light play together, because it makes me smile, or because there’s a personal challenge there. I’ve found that the paintings that work the best are the ones that “flow” because I’m totally engaged.

Currently I am continuing to work on capturing the play of light in my landscapes as the days and seasons go on. Mastering this will affect all of my paintings, still life as well as figurative painting. I love experimenting with paint—there’s literally no end of ways to express an idea. Painterly “problems” present opportunities to learn, and keep my work fresh and compelling. I always enjoy finding some challenging aspects in each piece.

Ojai Valley from Shelf Road - oil on canvas, 30x24, $850