I paint in Appalachia but follow the tradition of Cezanne, Monet and Matisse, who were acutely aware of the brush stroke separating into juxtapositions of shape and color and the religious experience evoked by the early mosaics in Byzantine cathedrals.  These early images, made of small pieces of colored glass and illuminated by candlelight, seemed to undulate in the flickering flame.

In my experience with painting in this tradition, I have felt the frustration I am sure I share with other artists.  If you look at a striking image and shut one eye, viewing it like a camera, the original experience is lost.  I compensate for this with the use of pigment and seek to capture the raw images of color and movement I see in Appalachian mountains and waterways, seeking the divine in the commonplace.