My oil painting practice has always centered on observation: landscape on location, figures posing in art studios, and still lifes from setups. Most of the paintings I’ve shown in galleries combine the “research” I’ve done from life with the addition of elements from my imagination.  It makes sense to merge the two, since none of our perceptions of the world are strictly literal, nor is our imagination anything but a creative reconstruction of our daily experience.  I’m also fascinated by the ability of paint to suggest both depth and decorative flatness, and the fuzzy boundary between the two.  Art is built on tensions and contradictions, as well as the achievement of hard-won harmonies, just like real life.