Although I use various methods in creating a painting, i.e., direct observation, photographs, sketches and imagination, I usually have two primary objectives: composition and mood. Once these are established, l am able to get on to the business of painting.

Painting is as much of an intellectual pursuit as it is a technical and expressive endeavor. I find I must constantly be mindful of the overall balance of a picture; the harmony of warms and cools, the variation of line and brushstroke, the juxtaposition of a hard line and a quiet passage, a bold impasto interrupting a soft transparency and the list goes on.

All of those variations when executed with unity and without confusion or unnecessary distraction are what makes a painting exciting for me.