In high school, I couldn’t wait to take an art class. Freshman year, I went to art class feeling very excited. The teacher was impersonal and aloof. Although I don’t remember what she said, a few comments were made that somehow, within a couple of days, led me to believe that I had no artistic potential at all. I dropped the class, and never took an art class again until many years later. If teachers only knew how powerful they are.

I still don’t consider myself an artist, really. I have an eye for design and color, I am drawn to abstractions and I like to experiment with color. I don’t like to follow the rules. I am self-taught and still have a lot to learn. But art gives me something. It gives me freedom. It gives me a form of expression that can’t be judged. It’s truthfulness.

Watercolor and gouache are my favorites. It’s the lightness. Life in so many ways feels heavy – watercolor paint feels light and free. It’s delicate and vibrant and gentle.

Painting is a form of meditation for me. When I’m painting, nothing else is of concern. I live in the moment, which is where we are supposed to be. The future and the past disappear.

My work surprises me. I am an intense person, but I usually paint in a way that is whimsical and happy. Maybe that’s who I really am. Who knows?

I have a plan inside my mind to create peace machines. They are still inside the corners of my thinking, but they are close to coming out into the world. I’ll keep you posted.