I make art largely because I can never remember a time when I wasn't fascinated and affected by the process and the art-work. It is my ball and chain, and at the same time, my passion. That said, I also make art because the simple juxtaposition of objects becomes animated for me, creating a dialogue; and I like telling absurdly fractured stories, capturing the essence of a fleeting feeling, attitude, weighted experience, strange, fragmented memory... I assume that growing up in the Bible-Belt, Ku Klux Klan ridden Midwest during the 1950s-1960s is the likely cause for this retreat (for sanity) into and appreciation of the absurd.Existentialism, expressionism, and postmodernism undergird my theoretical perspective when arranging compositions. I often paint what I dream or recall, regardless of memory's imperfection over time. This mixed with an interest in meaning-making further inform my work. So, although my work has meaning that I assign it, I would objectify the art object rather than the viewer. He or she will make his/her own meaning and may not get mine at all, when viewing my work. I use titles to lead the viewer into the work, but I expect them to take it from there and create their own stories from their lived experiences when "reading" my work.