I grew up in New York State and spent most of my free time exploring the woods near our family home. These early experiences of observing wildlife and the cycles of nature have informed and continue to inspire my work. I currently live in Northern New Jersey. The preserved parklands of the Ramapo Mountains are within walking distance from my home, and these serve as an integral part of my creative practice. On frequent visits to the woods, I take photographs, sketch and make color notations. These studies form the background to my studio process, where I create maquettes using clay, paper and other materials in order to work out the formal compositional elements. Memories of the site are also an important tool. The sculpted objects are placed in a light box, photographed, and then using the computer, integrated digitally with the other reference materials gathered. The resulting images serve as inspiration but are only intermediary, as the final version is freely worked and interpreted as a mixture of observation, intuition and painterly improvisation. I consider myself primarily a watercolorist, and am attracted to the way it physically swirls, runs and mixes on the paper. I add mediums to fatten, texturize, and speed up the movements of the paint. I stretch watercolor paper over pre-stretched canvas, providing a stable work surface where I am free to sponge, pour, spray and brush on the paint. This stable surface enables me to mix color on the paper, as well as on the palate. A sense of awe before nature that I felt as a child remains intact. Added to it, however, is an adult’s awareness of our rapidly changing earth, and the ecological crisis we now face. Most of us reside in cities and spend our days in closed man-made spaces. As a society, we can’t respect what we don’t know. To know is to fall in love with; to love, is to want to protect. My work is an expression of this complex and compelling relationship. It is the state of being part of nature, yet as a society and individuals moving further and further from it. I hope that my work will act as a catalyst for such conversations and help to remind us of what we stand to lose.