I have learned that the visual sensation is essentially one of colored shape. I have learned to approach the landscape not as a collection of trees, hills, mountains, fields but rather as an arrangement of colored shapes. I'm not trying to duplicate what I see, I'm working to reproduce the harmony of color and shape into an arrangement on the canvas or board. I'm not trying to be a camera reporting some objective reality but more I feel like a poet, seeking to express the beauty and power I find within myself as I receive the color and shapes of nature.