Artist Statement... I am a representational oil painter who tries to find the simplicity of a subject by using loose painterly brushstrokes on smooth surfaces. I work to reduce values, shapes or colors allowing them to run together causing the boundaries and details to be blurred or eliminated; allowing the mind to fill in what the eye doesn’t see. I am looking for the effects that light has on the subject. Then, I paint to the color as accurately as possible as seen in the light before me. The subjects of my paintings capture that moment. In my still lifes, I take ordinary items and elevate them to center stage with simple compositions. I am not looking for allegories or metaphors. I do, however, look for a composition and subject that give me a moment of stillness, time to contemplate in this busy digital world.