How do my paintings begin? Living in New York's Hudson Valley, I see beautiful vistas of mountains, fields, woodlands, water, and skies during different seasons and times of day. Often a landscape I've seen stays in my memory and I paint from that impression. Other times, a painting begins when I envision a color or group of colors - a specific blue or green, or maybe a range of warm and cool grays.  I start mixing paint and other colors emerge as complements and contrasts.

 

I often start on the paper by breaking up the space with pencil marks. Using palette knives to apply and remove paint, I can work in varying sections of color and also use the knives as drawing tools. As I continue to interact with the space, I add emphasis with more pencil or a pop of bright color. When the process is at its best, I'm able to step out of the way and let the painting lead me. The result may represent an inner landscape as well as an outer one.

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