Bridgette and I had a meeting last week in my studio. She wanted to see what I'd been working on for the past few months since my solo show at the gallery in February.

We talked a bit about the paintings I had on the walls. Then she asked me about one in particular. She asked me what excited me about that painting, tentatively titled, 'Frances Blue'. The first thing I pointed out was overcoming the challenge of having some of the stripe elements entering the picture plane from the top of the canvas instead of being anchored along the bottom as is usually the case. This was a big deal for me since the 'hanging' stripes cause a total shift in how the space is perceived; from that of looking at something that is anchored on the same horizonal as the viewer to a much more ambiguous space. One where the main forms lend themselves to a floating or sliding action in front and behind each other.

What excites you about this painting? That question opened a whole world of dialogue between her and I as well as between myself and my work. It's not as if I hadn't dealt with it before, however, it hasn't been a part of my thinking process a lot lately. It's so difficult to put a finger on that thing inside that I'm attempting to put on canvas. That's the way painting is for me. There is always the chase to make solid a usually vague feeling inside. Trying to give a body to something that could be best described as having the consistnecy of fog. It's next to impossible and frustrating at times. It's also what keeps me going as an artist. Trying to capture the ambiguity of life in abstract images and yet have it hold together and mean something.