This is a selection of paintings inspired by my curiosity about nature, my love of painting and my fascination with the emotive power of color. My earliest favorite paintings were those by Monet, Van Gogh, and Matisse. I was captured by their obviously thick brushstrokes and bright colors. I wasn’t looking at a traditional story, I felt as if I was brought into the scene. Later I experienced the same interaction standing before  the Abstract Expressionist paintings of Jackson Pollock and Barnett Newman. They created environments and atmospheres that reach out pulling the viewer into the scene. I was mesmerized by their bright color fields along with their individual styles especially the dynamic freedom in the paintings of Helen Frankenthaler and Joan Mitchell. I’d like to think that all their influences continue to inspire and are evident in my art.