What is your medium now? (oils, acrylic, pastel, watercolor...) What medium have you always wanted to use, but haven't yet? What mediums have you used in the past? Why do you prefer your current medium?

My medium is oil which I arrived at after trying acrylics and other water media. I am impatient and need to work quickly, covering as much surface as possible as quickly as possible. Oils provide me with the flexibility to work "in and out" of the painting, changing the composition and adjusting the colors, wiping out, redrawing, especially since I'd rather plunge in without a careful preparatory sketch. I stand while painting because I find the act a very physical one requiring freedom of movement My palette is fairly limited at present, warm and cool reds (cadmium red light and alizarin), blues (ultramarine, cobalt, cerulean), yellows (cad lemon. yellow ochre light, ochre) burnt umber, dioxazine purple. It makes me work harder for color nuances and helps with tonal unity.

When do you know a painting is really finished? Or are you always wanting to "tweak" it a bit more?

A painting is finished when it feels "settled", like all the chickens home to roost. All the parts support the whole. My tweaking occurs when things are out of balance.

What time of day are you most creative? Early morning? Afternoon? Early evening? Late at night? Which season do you feel most creative? Winter, Fall, Spring, Summer? Why?

I find I think more in the mornings and work more in the afternoons, mostly because I am slower moving in the mornings. I love to paint when the sun is low in the sky, early mornings and late afternoons. Not only is the mood more dramatic but there is a sense of urgency because conditions are changing rapidly.

Though most of us prefer working outdoors, do you prefer a studio where you live or maintaining a separate space? Why?

My studio is an enclosed upstairs sleeping porch in my home. If I had it to do again I would have an outside studio on the premises if possible. There are many household distractions which are too easily taken into the studio just off my bedroom

What does your studio look like?

Presently....a mess! It serves for storage, framing and work. But I am grateful to have it!

Who or what got you interested in plein air painting?

I took a brief course at at Community College years ago and realized how much I liked painting out of doors. I also recognized the challenges of editing along with the possibilities of taking the subject matter beyond mere description.

Let's talk about the creativity - where do you think the need to "create" comes from? (spiritual, intellectual, physical, etc.)

My need to "create" has always been present. I remember sculpting in the sand as a child and making dye out of ground bricks with a friend. Until I began painting in my forties, I felt frustrated by this need which in many ways seemed like a deep spiritual hunger that had not found the proper means of expression. So I guess at the deepest level it is spiritual and then incorporates the intellectual to analyze and the physical to perform. And as we share the process it again becomes spiritual.

"Personal Art History"

How do you feel about art education- the value of a college degree, attending workshops, etc.? Art School vs a liberal arts education? Which path did you follow?

My degree is a BFA in studio art. The best foundation courses I received were at at community college. From there I went on to study art at a university in which you essentially had to discover how to learn what you could from each instructor, some being more "cool" than instructive. This was a shock to an older retuning student, formerly an English major. If I had it to do again, I would opt for a highly regarded Art School with focused objectives. Workshops can be very helpful as long as you don't do one after another, choose selectively and avoid those that espouse formula painting.

"Inspiration"

What exhibition have you attended recently that inspired you? Why? Tell us about the show.

"Chuck Close Prints at the Corcoran". Amazing! His mark making! His vision! His drive despite his handicap.

Do you have a favorite art quote that inspires you? (tip: go to http://www.painterskeys.com/ for art quote source)

"An art which isn't based on feeling isn't an art at all...feeling is the principle, the beginning and the end; craft, objective, technique - all these are in the middle." (Paul Cezanne)