Sketching

"The act of drawing on location seems more important to me than the finished sketch. It is a highly personal dialogue with nature and is my source of en­lightenment. Rich technique, content and context (sketching, planning values and viewpoint possibilities) are fused with each first-hand experience of "seeing."

"Each time I return to my 'on-site' sketch for reference and inspiration there Is something unique and magical that happens. My subconscious mind recalls the special intrinsic qualities felt from my on-site experience and plays an even greater role in putting together yet another painting from sketches that may have been used many times over.

"All my senses, can be stimulated by looking through my sketchbook, because I pick up a memory of the mood of my subject or place. Time never completely erases these moments for me. A mere photo reference cannot compare to the memories, feelings, and moods generated from sketches of a place I have studied on-site. This on-site experience allows for countless possibilities that the human mind and feelings can invent. I'm convinced that there is an inner 'light' that takes over.

"Once I get started I seldom return to the pages of sketches but trust my feelings, always aware of the overall relationships of all the elements of the new painting, It ceases to be paint, paper or canvas and soon becomes a mood I am expressing. No longer is it a flat surface but a place to step Into. My painting is not devoted to just design concerns, but becomes a reaction to nature. Reliving the moment in my paintings requires preparation of mind, heart, and practiced drawing skills. It is a dependable means for total creative pleasure."

[ Reprint from North. Light Magazine, Dec. 1991}