I start by going out into the Wilderness, usually alone. There is something about the lines, the forms, the texture, and the light that I can’t get enough of. I’m obsessed with it all & I can never study it enough. Sometimes it’s overwhelming.   I often go to extremes to get to a particular view. Climbing mountains does not come naturally to me and is often very difficult. I am confronting my own doubts, weaknesses & fears out there. I work through the blood, sweat & tears to commiserate & celebrate with nature. There is no place where I feel more at home, more myself, than the desert.   I take many photographs and make paintings while I’m in nature. Those works are immediate, and I would describe them as pure. When I return to my studio, I confront all the issues and feelings I had on my journeys and attempt to work them out in a way that invites the viewer into my world. These works exist somewhere between reality and a feeling. They are as much self-portraits as landscapes. I've recently started to move away from oil paints and am working a lot with watercolor & ink. The fluid properties of these mediums can be unpredictable. I try to rein these washes of color in line, creating a tension & balance that mimics life in the natural world.