Landscape is a continuous thread in my work, although my paintings have moved over time from realistic to the abstract. I am interested in the colors and textures of the natural world, the form, texture and flow of organic shapes, the play of air, space, weather and light, the repeated patterns of nature. Many of my paintings celebrate the stripes I see in our nature world: the ribbons of color in a sky, the hues of a distant tree line or a receding range of mountains, the striped mosaic of field and hedgerow, the patterns left by waves on wet sea sand. My definition of landscape can vary from the pattern of distant mountains, the dense grasses of a marsh or patterns in sand to the small landscapes I see in tinier worlds – the mountains in a seashell, the hills and rivers in an autumn leaf. As a writer, I am also interested in painting my impressions or emotions of a moment or fragment of my life experience. “Night Fishing on Piney Creek” is such an example as it was created from the memories of the star-filled iridescent nights of my childhood experiences on Kent Island. Nature is not just what I see but what I feel as well. Books were a childhood sanctuary, and I have continued to read for entertainment, information, and inspiration. The rhythms and patterns of the written word resonate with me; I am charmed and seduced by their ability to create place and mood, action and emotion on a page.