Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working. -Pablo Picasso This is the truest statement I can think of to represent how an artist creates. It is the work itself that perpetuates the creation of more work and leads to more ideas. I have been working with several themes over the years. My interest in cattle began with the visual contrast they presented against the ochres of the landscapes. As I was painting plein air, trying to capture that, a group of cattle snuck up behind me to investigate what I was doing. I began to see them as the subject of portraits. I wanted to convey the questions they presented to me, as I was wondering what they were thinking. Since that day, I have visited many ranches and dairies, enjoying meeting the animals, as their caretakers shared their time and knowledge with me. Each animal seemed to call for a new portrait painting. From there, I also became intrigued by the rodeos. An empty field one day was turned into a small town overnight with animals, caretakers, and riders following the circuit hoping for a successful 8 seconds. In all of these paintings, I intend to show connectivity with something that may normally be overlooked as we move through the world around us. I work in acrylic paints with a layering process. I create blocks of color with an underpainting that will show through the top layers in varying amounts. I alter the resolution on those top layers to give variation between loose and more refined details which lets the underpainted colors show through with variances. The painting process itself has led to other avenues of developing themes/series of work. Texture within the landscape is also a visual theme that appeals to me. Some of the landscapes are about showing the patterns and textures while approaching the painting process the same way as my other portrait works. I continue to paint weaving through these various series- always working and always finding something in one painting that leads to the next.