I create to give myself pleasure. The world I see around me has a strong impact upon my sense of who I am and where I am. Sometimes I attempt to translate my perceptions of my world realistically and sometimes I attempt to translate them with little reference to reality, but I always try to translate what I see. I have been driven to create from a very young age. Art is where I find my refuge and it is both my haven and my playroom. My goal is to find ways to express visually the things I cannot or would not want to articulate verbally and to experiment with form, color, shape, texture, line and especially shadow and light. I can happily lose myself in the play and study of these elements. I am drawn to art that is highly personal, but not obviously so. I desire to create art that feels true to me and my hope is that those who view my artwork are able to connect to what they see.