With fragile self confidence I proceed, ever concerned about improving the quality of my work. I know that my strength lies in my attempts to capture the emotions of my time, to look to what inspires me, to portray my own era with affection and accuracy, hoping my audience will recognize and respond to it in a positive way.
Dealing with periods of self doubt, despondency, critics, I depend on a strong sense of self awareness; to depict the tranquility, warmth, and familiarity, the poetry and beauty in everyday life, hoping others will see it too. This combines both the humor and the sadness. The old fashioned ability to catch emotions has been an asset to artists for centuries.
I see the changes taking place around us, yet, I am fascinated by just how much things have not changed from those of my ancestors. A taste for the rural life, the simple pleasures we often take for granted, all these things and more assist me in producing something over and beyond the ordinary, while at the same time preserving the memories of that which is so welcome and common to us all. Contemporary art should be a celebration of our culture, our heritage, our lives, the individual experience, in short, a celebration of life.
I have written before on the significance of familiarity, painting so as to unite us, not divide. And I am learning that what I seek to discover within myself as an artist is never far from me, I need only to be more observant of what is actually taking place within and around us. So with my eyes open and my heart braced for uncertainty, I continue along my own path of self discovery, praying that my passion for each and every new idea remains alive; a passion that must never die.
