Still life isn't still at all--there's a lot of movement as the light hits an object and carves its form so your eye can see it. In these paintings, I tried to convey the beauty I see in simple, everyday things--fruit, a glass plate, a bowl--and how the light is always teaching us more about form and color. I find these still lifes bring me more appreciation of the small details that are all around me but invisible until I take the time to really see them.

In my waking and dream life, pathways have always been a recurring image. When I am out painting in plein air, my eye is often drawn to the way a road disappears into the distance. You trust that it continues somewhere, out of sight. These paintings are about the unexpected pathways our lives can take us, into greater healing and light, and how we must trust that the road does continue even when we can't see where it goes.

When I begin painting outdoors, I look for a dance in the images around me. I find myself drawn to trees, hillsides, the way the light falls on flowers at a certain time of day. After painting these scenes, they always look different to me the next time I visit the same place--as if they have become close friends.

Water has a soothing quality in my life, and I've tried to capture this peace in these paintings. Looking at lakes, rivers, and the ocean reminds me of the immense power and beauty of the natural world, and our real place within it.

I live between the mountains and the ocean, which gives me the beauty of both. This series tries to capture the ever-changing movement of wind, grasses, and waves by the beach in summer.