I began by making small still life studies on paper and, for the past two decades, these have gradually evolved, increasing in scale and complexity. I continue to work on paper because it allows for a level of detail and a range of ways of handling paint that I find hard to achieve on other surfaces. Painting is a way to explore the beauty and mystery I see in nature and to go beyond observation to a greater understanding of its structure and variety. I have been concerned with texture and color within my compositions, which I hope to achieve a strong sense of light and balance. Although I am drawn to a wide range of sources, my primary influences are in Spanish seventeenth-century painting and Asian painting. I strive to create images which acknowledge a debt to the past while communicating my sense of wonder in nature in a personal way.