I grew up in a home where it was almost sacrilegious not to be outdoors on a sunny day. On rainy days I found myself inside drawing the quirky tree — with leaves, without leaves, blowing in the wind — outside the kitchen window.

Today I find comfort and energy looking up through trees to the sky, gazing at water from a pond’s edge, or contemplating a speck of light on a meandering path. The landscape does not ask anything of me. It forgives and renews. I find myself often returning to the same places — both to sit and observe and to draw and paint.

For me drawing is primal. It is the connection between eye, hand and surface. Rather than literal representation I seek to capture the essence of a place in my work. I often pick up a branch or a piece of seaweed and use it to draw and paint with. My artwork becomes a diary of how I feel as I try to capture the energy of lines, evocative shapes and the grace and sometimes awkwardness of nature.

Tree Series, 29"x42", Mixed-media on paper