I See Little Things

I want to slow down the world, cause it to pause for a second and look, really look, the way I look. Experience the way I experience--experience the details.

Painting for me is about learning to see. I don't paint with my hands; I paint with my brain, and I paint with my heart. Painting for me is a process of learning, and I've learned a lot so far, but I feel like I have much more to learn. In fact I do not believe I can ever possibly learn everything there is to know about painting, and I find that satisfying. It means painting will always be exciting.

Painting is enjoyable because of the challenge. I decided to paint portraits largely from the fact that I saw it as the most difficult subject matter. I knew that if I were to paint still lifes or landscapes no one would ever know if a tree or an apple were misshaped or out of placed, but if an eye or nose is even the tiniest bit off it is obvious to almost anyone.

I sometimes have a hard time talking about my work because the challenge I overcame to to paint a particular piece was the learning process I experienced during the time it took me to paint it, and since I learned from the work, I no longer see things in the same way, and I am not the same person I was when I painted it.

In order to appreciate my portraits I think it is important to understand what I am not doing. I have no ambition to create some great change in the world. I don't care to make a grand statement or give the impression that see things more clearly than anyone else. But I do see things a little bit differently than most people, and the difference is in the details. I see little things. I see colors and shapes. I see faces as planes and values. Portraits are nothing new, but in a world saturated with images, I want to call attention to the beautiful details of reality.