For as long as I can remember, I always carry with me a strong urge to paint. There is just something about the application of paint to a surface. Be it paper, canvas, board, or anything really. The movement of making a brushstroke, the vibrancy of colour, the way paint moves like water when it is runny and how you can scratch back into it when it is thick. For me paint is the best medium to create the kinds of texures and layers I see when Im out in nature. It has so much movement and versitility.

When I'm out in this west coast wilderness its like I am collecting. Using either a visual journal, a camera, or just a stored image in my mind, I collect the many elements I see and often write about how I feel. I take them back to the studio and recreate the experience through experimental play with paint, ink, dye, and other dry mediums. Over time my observations evolve to inform my work in new ways. There is no end.

It would have to be when I have what I call ‘ugly days’. When my mark making is not flowing and things start to go a little pear shaped. The challenging part is learning to accept those days as part of the process, as part of my learning, and to just keep doing the work.

Learning to let go of perfectionism and connect with the energy of the painting and the process. It reminds me of dancing. When you really let the music get under your skin and your body moves without thought. It doesn't happen often but when it does, it's a wonderful thing.