Representational Works

Visual Mystical Journals

As I’m out in the world, going about living my life, I will come across something wonderful and then notice the light… It’s usually all about the light, the way it hits a subject and turns it into something magical. It could be a place I am visiting or a set-up I have decided to create as a still life, containing cherished objects. Or flowers; the endless beauty of flowers and nature are often my subjects.

I am then inspired to represent the feelings I had when I first encountered these subjects. I look through the many reference photographs I took at the scene and create a composite composition. I always begin with a detailed drawing, complete with defined shadows and values worked out on my paper. This process simplifies the chaos in the sheer number of thousands of details in any subject. The more time I spend on my drawing, by getting intimately familiar with my subject, the easier it is to focus on enjoying the painting process.

Once I start painting, my right brain is fully engaged. While describing through light, value, and form, a painting emerges through the medium of jewel-toned pigments and water, with controlled and uncontrolled flow. Both actual water flow and the cosmic flow are needed to create a successful painting, with the cosmic kind being the most elusive ingredient.

Most artists can represent an object or place, but what an artist brings from their inner being to the paper can make all the difference to the outcome. My aim is to always bring my unique cosmic connection to my watercolors and, in doing so, create as much beauty as possible for any subject I have the pleasure of painting. Being a perpetual student of the intricacies of merging these elements into my representational painting keeps me happily rooted in challenge, flow, and joy.

“I paint not the things I see but the feelings they evoke in me.”  Odilon Redon.