I have always been drawn to a beautiful landscape. I feel its beauty viscerally. It’s so powerful that I must record it, either in my memory, a photograph, or by painting. In painting a landscape I want to distill it down to its essence and share it so that others will experience something similar to what I feel.

I have found that the less I tell in a painting, the more powerful it is. The process of distilling, of knowing what to leave out, what colors are important, what the bare essentials are, is my task. I stop when I feel just the essentials are down but the energy is there; the spirit of what moved me. I leave out enough so you, the viewer, can bring your own memories and experience to the piece.

My latest series has grown out of an artist residency I did in Portugal in June 2010. I found myself in a landscape that really spoke to me and in a supportive environment that was ideal for exploring and developing my personal voice. I broke out of my usual mode of working small and rather literally with pastel to work with larger canvases and flowing paint in a looser style. In exploring the spirit of place, the qualities of light that soothe and inspire me, my intention is to share that with others and provide the viewer with a richer experience of the beauty that surrounds us.