For me, painting and printmaking are opportunities to discover alternate visual worlds — a chance to escape, explore and create. I find the act of painting and printmaking paradoxical: a juxtaposition of the joy of being engrossed in colors, shapes, and textures while at the same time having to puzzle through analytically how to put all the parts together into a compelling whole. My preferred media are watercolor and monotype, sometimes combining the two. I am drawn to these two approaches due to the element of surprise inherent in both — encouraging my pursuit of unexpected visual paths. Lately I have been mingling printmaking and watercolor with other media such as inks and collage.  I strive to meld content and composition with imagination, hoping to generate mental detours from life’s daily demands.