People often ask why, and what, I paint.

It’s a complicated question. The short answer is “Because I have to.” Painting is part of me and who I am.

I get great satisfaction knowing my paintings evoke particular feelings or reactions in people.

The thought of my paintings bringing beauty to someone else’s life and surroundings gives me pleasure.

The questions “what,” and “why”

(along with “Right, and what do you actually do, then?”), are hard to answer simply. I rarely set out with a fixed intention or goal, beyond capturing a mood, emotion or tone. Colour and texture express a sense of light and perception that evokes a place and time.

I begin with a general intent …

attempt to depict something that’s really light and dark, or play around with just two colours to see how a landscape or still life can be simplified. It rarely ends up that way, but gives a starting point from which you can just let ‘er rip, and see where the feel of the moment takes you. Along the way, you hit on a great colour or texture combination that inspires you, and scoots you off in another direction. Texture is an especially great vehicle, as the feel and look of the paint and brushwork adds motion to the moment. It can tweak something that maybe isn’t working out, transforming it into something fresh that pulls it all together.

It’s the “Nike stole my motto” school of art: Just do it!

Painting these days is a form of travel…

restful, calm, even happy, without a specific destination, but giving me a chance to share my vision. Inspiration abounds; the view from home overlooks a vast ravine, and offers up a constantly changing vista. Seasons change, cloud contortions amuse/amaze me, the light shifts and dances, and sunrise is required viewing.

Mood and colour are the driving elements.

Mainly colour … I have severe difficulty keeping it down to three colours. Through the span of my work the unifying thread is the colour palette. It’s pretty strong, exhuberant, and always has been. Subject matter changes over time, but strong line and colour remains. That’s the field I play in.

And while I’m “just doing it,” how do I know when I’m done?

Sometimes, my kids tell me (pretty good eyes, there). Overall, though, something inside the painting stops wanting to be fixed. So I stop. The result may even be unsettling, but somehow you want it to be unsettling, so that’s cool. You’ve arrived somewhere.

As for what’s coming up next,

well, that’ll be shaped by mood and moment. But texture might be a good launching pad … maybe a little knife-style paint work with a useful and different painting tool?

A theme … “1001 Uses for A Chopped Up Credit Card?”

Thanks for visiting here … support local artists, and visit their creations in person. When the mood and tone are right, bring some of their colour and beauty back to a life in your home.