As a painter who uses oil paint, oil sticks, pastels, watercolor and gouache on various surfaces, I am constantly exploring different ways of applying these materials.   Color, rather than an idea, is the starting point for me and whether I'm using a brush or a palette knife, each stroke is in response to the previous one. When I stop thinking or forcing something to appear, I become open to the relationship between unpredictability, intuition and experience.  At my most successful, the painting and I are participating in a conversation that ultimately will reveal the painting's poetry.