"My purpose is to promote open air painting, a humanized form of art, reflecting the simple and true aspects of life as I see it. I aspire to be a student of the fundamentals of fine art, with the sole purpose of painting as an expression of the joy of simply being alive."

Ours is truly a higher calling. Anyone who has studied nature closely has realized that it cannot be duplicated in paint. Given this fact, I am more convinced than ever that we have a much higher calling than simply the making of pictures.

So we begin the pursuit of learning the fundamentals of painting by studying the traditional methods of the greats among us, and the masters of days gone by. Through the frequent study of nature itself, intense practice, and a constant acquisition of knowledge, we begin to build a "sound track to run on".

It has been said that the artist is born and not made, but to attain such success he must go through the toil of the study so that it becomes part of him. Only then can he set aside all of this and get to the heart of the matter.

So to make that demonstration that is unique to the individual, we put heart and soul, body and spirit into unity. So the seeker begins to interpret moods, his own, and those of nature.

It is well said that the learning never stops. Indeed. Nature may even be apparent in his pictures, but this higher calling challenges him to do something more. He must reveal himself.