In Plato's Philebus, beauty consists of symmetry and exactness. My early life had neither, and my longing for it resulted in pencil drawings, collages made of rocks pushed in the sand, and baling wire animal sculptures. I sought it in animals, through training dolphins and exotic animal rescue. I sought it in sky and sea, through hang gliding and scuba diving. My quest took me backpacking and mountain climbing. But through all that, I created art, and in the end I found that for me, painting is the ultimate fulfillment of symmetry and exactness. My heart longs for beauty and the desire to somehow possess it and art engrosses me in that quest completely. My eye continually searches for that which stirs heart and paintbrush, and when they sing in tune, my art is the result.