Why I Paint the Way I Do

Why I Paint the Way I Do

I paint slowly because it is the only honest way I know how to work.

Painting is not an exercise in expression for me. It is an act of attention. Before anything is put down, something must be seen clearly. That takes time. There is no shortcut for it.

The objects I paint are ordinary by design. Fruit, cloth, glass, metal, wood. These are things we pass by every day without noticing. In the studio, they are given weight and consequence. Light is studied. Edges are considered. Color is restrained until it earns its place. Nothing is accidental.

This approach is not fashionable, and it is not efficient. It comes from older methods, when painters were trained to observe before they were encouraged to speak. I work in layers because reality reveals itself in layers. Form does not announce itself all at once. Neither does meaning.

I am not interested in spectacle or speed. I am interested in permanence. A painting should hold up to repeated looking. It should reward time, not demand novelty. If a work needs explanation to survive, it has already failed.

Craft matters. Structure matters. Discipline matters. These are not limitations. They are what make freedom possible. When the fundamentals are sound, the painting can carry more than just an image. It can carry conviction.

The goal is simple. To make work that does not rely on trends, cleverness, or volume. To make paintings that remain steady over time, and that ask the viewer to meet them with the same attention they were given.

An Artist studio

That is the work. Everything else is secondary.

For those who enjoy living with this kind of work, the Collectors Circle offers early viewing of new paintings, quiet studio notes, and occasional reflections shared directly from the studio.

You are welcome to learn more here.

The Collectors Circle