I paint what I want to learn.  It happens on the surface of the canvas even though I spend much time and effort to “see” it outside of myself, in the landscape or in my relationships.  For the last few years I have focused on the landscape of my immediate surroundings, the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona, where my heart has found a place to soar.  I am moved by the vastness of the region, by the enormous sky that becomes deep cobalt at twilight, the millions of visible stars and the sense of timelessness.  My spiritual life aids the painting of abstract forms, using color and bold brushwork to represent the unseen, the form behind the form.  Yet, I cannot help but to refer directly to the unspeakable beauty that surrounds me, so shapes of mountains, trees, birds and rocks inevitably find their way into a composition along with the brilliant light and colors of these things.  My work has developed from realism into abstracted images that reference a distinctively contemporary sense of place.  As I work, I continue to discover the true nature of life through my paintings.  I paint in a series to play out what I am learning and to integrate my impressions and personal history with the existing forms of sacred mountains, plants and animals.