I love to travel and experience nature, but the inspiration for many of my paintings comes from a walk by the ocean close to my home. I am blessed to live near the ocean, and each time I visit, I take photographs as if it were the first time I have ever seen it. The atmosphere, colors and light are different each time. The walk at the ocean inspires me because it fills up and replenishes my sensory banks. I can see sky, earth and water all visually interconnected with each other – to me when these 3 essential elements coexist, my paintings find balance; there is an endless spectrum of color, distance, texture, simple organic shapes, pattern, reflections, negative space, and objects such as leaves, birds, wood. Yes, the scenery is gorgeous, and a hundred paintings could be inspired with that alone, but there is more. I am inspired by what I see, but I am as equally inspired by what I don’t see. My mind collects and documents the nonvisible – the intangible. I want to paint what I don’t see – The air sometimes cool and fresh, sometimes warm and humid; the birds, chasing and chirping; the waves washing upon the shore with a calmness; the leaves gently falling; the rain perpendicular to my face (yes this is Vancouver); the simple passing of the landscape as I move in it and throughout it. My body is breathing and my soul is happy – I feel inner peace. I am mentally stimulated – I have a strong urge to be creative. When all is good, when the stresses (real and manufactured) of life are away, if only for a while, then there is inspiration – inspiration to paint.
Jericho Beach, Vancouver BC – Nov. 2013