As an artist I can paint anything I choose, and often times my subjects vary drastically from one week to the next. Variety is healthy, but throughout all the years, I've always been infatuated by water. Initially, it was in cloud form, but more recently I've taken to painting bodies of water such as lakes and rivers. The water I paint tends to be as close to the source as one can get. The clarity and purity of the water in mountain streams is beyond compare. These rivers deserve not only protection, but also our respect and reverence. Since we have instant access to running water any time we want it, the perceived value of water is less then what it actually is.     Often people ask what inspired me to start painting water. That answer isn't quite as profound as the reasons why I continue to paint water - such as beauty, complexity, challenge, meditation, etc. But the real reason I started painting rivers was because I liked to be sitting by water all day long. It was as simple as that. We all have the option to shape our own lives and I wanted to shape my life around being next to water. I didn't know exactly what was pulling me in that direction, but many of my life choices are based on hunches and gut feelings anyway, so I've just learned to follow my instincts.     These paintings reflect my fascination with water and my love of the mountains. Going up in elevation, one can find rivers of the utmost purity. The small rivulets cascading down granite slides coalesce and eventually form the mighty rivers that barely quench our nations thirst.   The high country is where it all starts. From these peaks and high mountain lakes, water finds its way down through the valleys, the farms and into the big cities until it's all used up. By the time the water flows from our faucets, it's not the same. It's lifeless and dead. The water in the rivers is fresh, bubbling and alive. It fills me with something that words can't explain, so I try to capture that feeling through my art. These waters have influenced every facet of life from the shape of the rocks to the spacing of trees. Water is the real artist, I'm just a student.

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