How long have you been creating?

I have been painting watercolors for 20 years. In the beginning I was mostly concerned with painting something I thought people would like. Now I start by creating something I like and hope that others will enjoy it too.

What, besides your art, brings you creative fulfillment?

Thinking, solving puzzles. In my other career, I am software engineer, in a field with focus on mathematics. This gives me the opportunity to solve complex puzzles and problems, often in a creative way. For the same reason, I enjoy playing chess. I also get a lot of fulfillment from teaching or helping others to be creative. I enjoy introducing new people to watercolor painting. I enjoy seeing someone else create something for the first time.

What are your motivations for creating?

My motivation for painting is the fun and enjoyment I get out of doing it. I enjoy each stage of creating a piece from coming up with an idea, shooting the photographs, doing the sketches and finally painting.

The ideas for the subject matter of my paintings come from observing everyday objects and sights. I often think the most mundane items would make a good painting if they were lit well and arranged properly. When creating a still life painting I look for contrast between the light and dark, reflections, the color of shadows on a white surface. I also strive for my still life paintings to look natural, meaning I want to show objects as they would appear in everyday life. There are just as many interesting reflections and shadows in a pile of silverware in a crowded drawer, as there are in a silver tea set and silverware formally arranged on a table.

What do you find stimulating right now? How does this influence your creative process?

Right now I am most interested in anything that is old. Stuff you can find in an antique shop or a flea market. This influences my creative process because I have to take many of my photographs on site, in shops or stores, as opposed to in my studio, where I can set up the arrangements myself. This means that even if I find a subject that I am interested in, if the angles I can photograph it from are not good, or the lighting is not right then I will not end up with something I can use.

What brought you to EBSQ?

An artist that was already using your site recommended it to me.

Please share some of your artistic goals for 2008.

My goals for 2008 are to get into several New England juried shows, and to become an exhibiting member of the New Hampshire Artist's Association.

What would you like your fellow EBSQ artists and our collectors to know about you and/or your work?

I work exclusively from digital photographs and spend as much time taking photos and sketching as I do painting. I am currently exhibiting at the Manchester Artist Association Gallery. I am constantly creating and painting and will be expanding the number of pieces I have on ESBQ.