My purpose in painting has changed over the years. In the beginning, it was all about the “how.” I worked hard at learning the craft. Even as a child, I loved looking at paintings and felt a thrill when I saw a particularly beautiful landscape. I wanted to create something like that myself.
Then the journey became about trying to understand the “why.” I realized I was a steward of nature and the land, preserving on canvas places and species likely to disappear under the heavy foot of civilization and, hopefully, raising awareness. I’ve always been a nature-lover and enjoy most being in the wild.
Finally, the journey became all about the experience. Now the experience is everything. I now know enough about “how” that I don’t have to think about it much. I now understand “why” so I don’t have to think about that much, either. Instead, today is no longer about the product—not the picture in a frame hung on the wall—but about the experience, the act of responding to nature and the landscape in a personal way.
