This image, called Life Cycles–The Butterfly is an example of keeping your eyes open for beauty in unlikely places. I saw this butterfly floating in a cattle trough. I hung onto the photographs of the scene for several years, until I finally figured out what I wanted to do with it. The outside border is rough textured, similar in feeling to the cement trough. The butterfly, rocks and other bugs are painted in layers of transparencies and are quite smooth and glossy. Rather a strange image, I guess, but one that was compelling to me.

What in the world is this? If you go to the Phoenix Art Museum, you'll find this window which looks out into a small space between two walls. Sometimes I see oddball images that strike me. This was one. It was so ethereal and strange, and is especially so, taken out of context. I had lots of fun trying to capture the feeling of the shiny floor and the transparent window in this painting.

This is a painting I did several years ago. I love to paint people. Painting people in wonderful places is even better. Paintings that say something about the human condition are the most rewarding of all for me to create. This little group of elderly people were sitting in the courtyard of a museum in Santa Fe. It's called Waiting for the Grandchildren. What does it evoke for you?

Being an artist is always a balancing act. Preparing and maintaining materials takes time, energy and money. Then there's the actual time spent producing the work. It takes time for creative ideas to coalesce. Figuring out how to make what's in your mind take shape in the physical world is another piece of the puzzle. The balance in my life for the last month has tipped to family. It was wonderful having Mathew home for his winter break. And wrenching to have him go back to school. Now it's time for me to get back to work!

What you see here are three small (8x10) paintings on panel. They work as a series or as individual paintings–capturing some of the colors and shapes I saw in the landscape around Yellowstone National Park.