The British painter Howard Hodgkins has said, "I don't understand why there have to be words between the picture and the spectator." I concur in this, but since some words are often asked for, I will offer a few. All of my work is grounded in my perceptions of the natural world, elements of the landscape, earth and sky and water, plant life and animals, in its incredible diversity, its fragility and everlastingness. It is about seeing and feeling deeply about what is seen. And I hope that often what is seen and felt and portrayed can stand for something else. John Cheever once said that his work was about looking for the light in the quotidian. I try to do that.