Growing up in rural Vermont, with its beautiful scenery, changing seasons and their wonderful colors, much like West Virginia, instilled in me a love of nature and its beauty. I believe art exists to help us see our world more intimately and to stimulate our imagination and perception. It is like a well composed piece of music which never loses its ability to communicate a sense of beauty and emotion. Art carries me away to another dimension where there is color, freedom and tranquility, with the absence of time and pressure. I hope my paintings communicate a mood and feeling that tell a story the viewer can identify with and relate to.