“If you hear a voice within you say ‘ you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” van Gogh. I am a self-taught artist and prefer to work with watercolors and ink. I don’t want to be constrained by one medium; but let the subject I am painting inspire what medium I use.When I paint, the world around me goes away and I am totally at peace with myself (and having many life tragedies) – this is why I paint. I primarily paint people, animals and nature landscapes. I love to look at a photograph of a person and try to interpret and tell their story through my painting.I also want to push the boundaries of what people consider beautiful and show that we all are beautiful in our own light. I have a cabin in the Ozarks Mountains in Arkansas and I love to paint the beauty of the mountains and natural lakes, waterfalls, rivers and streams. I like to explore painting on different surfaces.I have completed many paintings on antique book and dictionary pages and love the aged look they add to the paintings. One thing is for certain, being able to explore my art as a second career has made me appreciate every minute of my journey and I look forward to seeing what the future holds.