It’s challenging to create an image that gives an animal character.
I’ve been face to face with a mountain lion while hiking in the Sierras, surrounded by sharks diving in the South Pacific and frozen with terror staring at the wide open jaws of a cottonmouth near my ankle in a cypress swamp in Georgia. Conversely, a school of curious squid in Fiji touching my mask with their tentacles left me smiling for days. Wild encounters are thrilling and unforgettable. I spend as much time as possible photographing wildlife for inspiration. Through observing and painting animals I hope to convey a full range of emotions.

I rented a studio surrounded by acres of ponds in Georgia and sketched an alligator in a bathtub, facing my morbid fear of them. A tame alligator is silly. I canoed regularly on the pond in front of my studio, nervously. The estate I lived on allowed hunters to shoot the animals and I imagined inviting all the animals to hide in my bathroom including the alligator. A boy holding a bluebird furthers the illusion of safety in a frightening world. The idea that prey and predators could peacefully hang out in one small room is a childish dream. I’ve continued the series with Catskills Treehouse and have drawings done for several more.