I love art that begins long before the painting does. Whether I'm working in oil and cold wax, collage or acrylic, I build layers on layers -- marking, staining, papering, pushing pigment until the surface carries a history of its own. Then I scrape back with awls and sanders, digging in to find what's buried there. The surface is earned, not applied. I want the finished piece to pull a viewer in close - close enough to touch it and see what's underneath.

Inspiration finds me more than I find it. It shows up in small things - light on the lake, a morning in the treehouse studio, an act of kindness, the people I love, a memory I haven't thought about in years. I bring all of it into the studio and let it land in the work. Then the painting itself starts talking back - one mark suggests the next, a color pulls me somewhere I wasn't planning to go. My best work is always a conversation between my life and the surface.

I'd paint murals for the places that need them most. First, the two animal shelters I volunteer at - Bella Vista Animal Shelter in Arkansas and the Humane Society of Macomb in Michigan - walls of warmth for the animals and the people who care for them. Then I'd partner with Detroit Public Schools and their student artists to paint murals together, side by side. Shelters and schools. Two places where a little brightness can bring a lot of joy.