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Being a visual artist, my most important tool are my eyes. Having the ability and willingness to look around at nature and see with purpose always centers me and brings great peace. Even though I don’t paint exactly what I see, I pull out visual elements from multiple landscapes and compose them onto the canvas.

Big elements, like the sky, a body of water or a field usually make up my straight-forward composition. These elements get translated into large color areas with various layers and very loose or non-existant detail. I will also grab smaller elements like a patch of sand in the distance, a clump of trees or a sunny reflection. These smaller elements give the painting more dimension, contrast and energy as the paint used to represent them sits on top of everything else.

My paintings often include a horizon because I like having this reference point for myself and the viewer. This gives me the ability to record the areas where the colors change or a really dark color meets up with a light area. These color and value changes are the things in a real landscape that get me inspired and excited to get into my studio and start laying things out on my canvas. Once I get started, the painting often becomes something entirely different as I’m working thru the process, but as long as I keep that excitement flowing, I know something fantastic will emerge.

So the next time you are outside taking a walk, riding by a pond or gliding in a canoe, take a look around. I welcome you to see what I see.

“Come to Me in Mid Afternoon”
20×20 Acrylic on Canvas