This Series continues my exploration of the layers that exist everywhere: in our personal worlds and in the larger venue that is life on Earth, in this universe, and perhaps in others yet to be discovered.  I was inspired greatly by the Philip Pullman series of fantasy books; The Amber Spyglass, The Subtle Knife and The Golden Compass in which the young explorers possess the ability to "slice" through naturally occurring gaps in the atmosphere allowing them entry to other worlds.  I have also been inspired from a very young age, by a reoccurring series of dreams in which I cannot quite figure out if I am very large or very small, a sort of Alice in Wonderland through the looking glass vision of the world from a variety of vantage points.  One minute I am holding a full sized table for example and the next I am small enough to nap in the cap of an acorn.  It is a fascinating feeling of wonder not in any way frightening, that I still hold in my being today.  Hence the need to show excruciatingly small detail of what most would consider quite unimportant.  (Given the present fascination of micro miniature technology, the non artistic among the population should give nature another look for their own good; I have read that many are doing just that and I'm elated.)
On the other hand, in the non-visible world of our inner beings, we ourselves are a series of many layers: the many facets of our personalities hewn from our experiences and preordained genetics.  On many levels, my fascination with layers becomes the building block for my passion to experiment with color.  As layers of paint and wallpaper show us the history of a building and give clues to past inhabitants, so the layers of my visual work gives clues to our experiences as we muddle through our personal journeys.  The color will hopefully bring joy to the often mundane series of acts that are layered one on to the other to create our existence.  And then of course there is the main reason I create, because without this act I am not whole.  In the process I want to enlighten the viewer to enjoy the beautiful minutiae there is to see on our shared journey.
As you look at the pieces I have labeled The Botanicals, notice that they are abstracted images of bits and pieces of things that have been gently, yet continuously, worn and changed by their journey through the sea.  I live by the sea for a reason, it is only by seeing the end of the land every day that I feel whole and connected to the Earth, a very large place made up of uncountable very small things both living and inert.  It is a natural segue that my work takes its cues from these bits and pieces I discover on quiet walks along the shore.