Q: The frames on your paintings are simple, yet elegant. Where do you get them?

A: There are many options for frames today in the marketplace. My choice was something simple but nice. I wanted frames that would set my work off without overpowering it. Originally I worked with a son of a professor who built frames and then I learned how to gild them with gold leaf. Then my he moved and I had to come up with another source for frames. My father stepped up to help. He began building my frames along with cutting and cradling my painting boards. The frames are made from Alder wood. He would cut the wood, rout the face of the frame, and fit them together. He spent many years building lots of boards with frames so I would have plenty to choose from. He has since passed on but he is remembered regularly when I start a new painting or gild frames to go with the paintings. I am so grateful that he had the ability to help me out. I hand apply leaves of 22 karat gold leaf around the front of the frame. I then burnish the gold to make it shine and I varnish the gold to protect the gold leaf. I paint the sides black and then fit the painting into the frame making it ready to hang.

Q: Most artists today paint on canvas. You prefer birch panels or wood. Why?

A: I like the rigidity of the wood versus the flexibility of canvas. I like the resistance of the wood lends well to the additive and subtractive method of painting that I’ve developed in creating my work. Being able to go back in and be abrasive, removing paint, and leaving traces behind. Painting on wood panels is not a new technique. In fact, early Italian and Flemish masters used wood panels even before the fifteenth century.

Q: Your paintings are so unique. They seem to glow from within — and the colors are so vibrant. What is your secret?

A: I apply layers of unmixed paint, allowing each layer to dry followed by additional layers. This process of painting with pure pigment allows light to reflect off the white background of the board back to the viewer. This creates a luminous appearance to the work and the painting seems to glow.

Q: Where do you find the inspiration for your paintings?

A: Like many artists, my paintings are a reflection of my experience, surroundings, and religious beliefs. The subject matter of my work reflects life’s mortal journey, while the luminescent quality represents the hope for an eternal home. I believe that life is a process of ridding oneself of the unnecessary, of acquiring knowledge and deep understanding about the world and the purpose of life. The organization, the planning, the additive and subtractive method that I use within each painting are reflective of these beliefs.

Q: Are your paintings of a specific location?

A: Some are and others are fabrications of multiple places. I always start with a photograph usually, unless I am painting from sketches made outside, but generally I paint in my studio from photographs. A main concern with my paintings is the play of light. Whether its the light of the moon, sun, or how its reflected through and off the clouds.