Now that I am retired from the fire service I can paint when and how much I want in my studio located in an old mill building in Nashua, New Hampshire. I started my art career painting large abstract oils while in High School in San Diego, California and had some success with my assemblages of burlap, plaster and oil paints on canvas. I continued my art education in San Francisco and then New York City. I moved to Nashua in 1977 after spending ten years in Brattleboro, Vermont.

I have done a lot of hiking and mountaineering and I feel that these activities come forward onto the canvas when I start painting. I am making an emotional statement about what I have seen and experienced. When I start painting I only have an inkling of what it may be about. I start with one line across or a single blotch of color or a shape of texture with sand. I do not know where it will go. It is like being dropped in a strange city without a map. It becomes a journey of exploration where I rely on my openness and intuition to guide me beyond the anxiety and fear of failure.

I try to paint without harsh judgment. If I have an idea I try to explore it and see where it leads. Later, I can change it or even throw it out, but while I am painting I try to embrace and accept all my ideas. The meaning of the work for me often surfaces later and can shake up my comfortable view of the world. These are visual things that cannot be replaced by words and I am hopeful they can be as beneficial to others as they are to myself.