In my work, I seek to show a harmony between nature and humanity. There is a human element in nearly all of my paintings, even though they are generally more focused on nature. The natural elements in my paintings are treated no differently from the human elements, reinforcing this sense of harmony that I attempt to convey. The viewers of my paintings should feel a sense of what it was like to be in the places that I chose to paint. I primarily do studies from life and later use them to create more complex paintngs. There is something about the immediacy of a painting done alla prima, or wet on wet, from nature, that makes the study look earnest and true to the conditions in which it was painted. If I do a paintng in the rain, I would like the viewer to be able to tell that it was raining outside and if it is infested with bugs, that too should be reflected in the painting. These things are hard to achieve in the studio and that is why it is important to do the sketches on site before they are turned into more finished pieces. Humans have had a tremendous impace on nature and, although we have done a lot of damage, there are still a lot of places where humans live in a mutually beneficial relationship with the land. These are the kind of places that I try to show to otheres through painting.