There is a challenge and a joy in seeing something ineffably beautiful or moving and resolving to make a painting of it. The threads of the canvas, the sea, Vermont, family, friends, and Maine have woven themselves inextricably into my psyche and my work. Sometimes I go looking, often early in the morning before setting sail for the next harbor or toward the end of the day after we anchor and the harsh light softens. Other times a subject recommends itself unsolicited with the realization that a painting is staring me in the face. During the winter months I find things indoors that I want to paint and contrive arrangements. No matter the motivation or the circumstance, to me painting is a kind of meditation that helps me focus on the simple joy of rendering well a chosen subject.