I try to capture the moment as well as the feeling of the season. In summer, I paint whatever is in bloom at the time - hollyhocks, poppies, apples, watermelon, etc. In autumn, I paint the local harvest such as pumpkins, gourds of every shape and color, red and green chile peppers or maybe chamisa, golden cottonwood leaves, yarrow. I collect bones, shells, eggs, and convince friends and family to pose for me. I frequent flea markets and junk stores since I enjoy painting objects with a history, like copper pots, milk containers and kettles because there are dents and scratches from years of use in another time.
Painting is spiritual in a primal way.
When I place fruit or flowers on the window sill, it's almost like an ancient ritual or an altar where the seasons harvest or treasured goods were offered to the gods as a prayer or to give thanks. For years I have been working on an Adam and Eve series. I may do only one or two a year, but it has become a constant theme. Recently, I finished a painting of a black man holding an apple. It is a combination of theology and science.