There are many levels of meaning to an artist?s work and there are many reasons why an artist makes art. There are also artists, works of art and creative endeavors, which have no evident or obvious meaning and that does not make them any less valuable or less essential. In my work, I am not obsessed with meaning. I am not a storyteller, I am a visual expressive, feeling human being who makes things that raise questions, solves problems and hopefully have some beauty in them. The act of painting and creating is something that is in my nature. I am happiest when I?m doing it. When I am in the creative ?zone? time seems to stand still. It may be the only time that I am truly in the moment, the present moment. Like the Dadaists and Abstract Expressionists, my working process is generally about spontaneity and automatism. I don?t plan or do sketches before I start making a picture. It is a dialogue that is emotionally and intellectually responsive to the act of creating. I make a mark or glue down an image or shape, then respond to it and make another mark that helps support the creation of the overall work. It is like call and response in musical improvisation. It is important to realize, however, that I am constantly creating and solving problems using my knowledge of the elements, principles and vocabulary of art and design: line, shape, form, color, value, space, etc. These are essential to how I construct a piece. Collaboration is an important part of my art making process as well. I enjoy working with other artists to create works that literally respond to the creative energy or vision of someone else. It can be cathartic and inspirational. It forces me to see things differently. It creates a third artist whose presence would not exist without the other artist?s creative vision. This is my experience with my painting partner Gerard Amsellem and with Global Art Project. Painting for me is an expression of what is going on in my life. It is not translation it is interpretation and reaction. It takes many forms and uses many techniques and mixed-media processes to communicate my vision. My mission is to communicate a visual language through imagery, expression, and form, which has at its core a reflection of my aesthetic and the history of where it came from. I am a creative. As an artist, I want to transform my feelings and reactions to life into a visual language that might inform the viewer and provide understanding and insight into my vision, my working process, and my life.