"The most important thing to me is the work process.  I look within for my own true response to what’s in front of me as I work.  What knocks me out graphically, spiritually.  I try not to be influenced by market, by other opinions or by other artist’s styles.  Yes, there are artists I love and admire who inspire and nourish me: Rothko, Sargent, Bonnard, Caillebotte, Egon Schiele, Van Gogh, among others.  I absorb it, then filter what comes out through my own eye, soul and hand.

I remain aware of the demands of drawing, color, design and composition, but am always ready to respond to and accept the wonderful accidents that occur along the way: Wow, look at that blue!  How did that happen?  Did I do that? There is magic in the process but only if I’m true and steadfast.

I’m not talking abut “self-expression” here.  Good art is not the product of an effort solely to “express” outrage, anger, joy or love.  Art is about illumination, seeing in a new way (will a cypress ever look the same after Van Gogh?).  What excites me about the arrangement of the planes of this face, the way these forms fit together, the way those colors vibrate?  If I can’t get excited about these things, why would I bother? Art is a lot of WORK!

These things guide me.  Does my work live up to my best intentions? Almost never.  But the process, the search, the obedience to the principles design and drawing, the acceptance of what happens along the way, are hugely satisfying. And every once in awhile, often enough, something works! A line, a color, a brushstroke! That is pure joy."

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Aries Gallery - 4222 West Burbank Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505 - 818.846.0611