My paintings are colorful yet calming representations of places and things I have a connection to. Edward Hopper said, "If I could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint." I find it exciting and challenging to be able to express how I see the world visually. The process of seeing and then translating what I see into a painting carries with it emotions and memories that are hard to express verbally — a flow of thoughts, not always connected to the image, emanating from within and somehow finding their way out through the paint brush. Photographing what I see is an important part of my process and because I am a studio painter, I often use Photoshop to manipulate my images to help me compose, to some degree, what my finished painting will become.   My medium of expression is, for the most part, oil paints, but I also use other mediums when the inspiration strikes.