ARTIST STATEMENT

Subject matter dictates my choice of medium whether oil, pastel, or graphite. Drawing is my passion so pastel is often the choice. I love the brilliance of color and the spontaneity they allow. Their portability also works well with my love of working in plein air. Painting from life, or on location, involves all five senses and demands a response from the soul. Learning to listen to that inner voice, my subjects often find me instead of vice versa.

Recently a series of landscapes depicting the rapidly disappearing wetland areas of the Carolinas has become a focus for me. I have been fortunate for much of my life to have a second home on the banks of Lake Marion, South Carolina just miles from the Santee National Wildlife Preserve. Over the years I have painted and explored its vast shoreline, reveling in its wildness, beauty, and serenity. Increasingly I find that what were once havens of nature are now neatly groomed golf courses, housing developments, or shopping centers. Therefore I am adding my voice to the conservation and preservation of these havens of nature through these new works.

I feel that my realistic style serves well in helping others become aware of this man made devastation. Realism transcends all boundaries of culture, education, and socio-economic standing. If I can make one viewer pause, look, and react to whatever struck me in a fleeting moment then I will have succeeded.