NATURAL
SUPERNATURAL
ARTIFICIAL

Look at the landscape. Even the most casual observation of nature reveals a multitude of chemical and mechanical systems - meteorological, geological, biological, atomic. All of these function simultaneously in harmony. Consider the Earth orbiting the Sun through the seasons while spinning in its day and night cycle. At any given time, light passing through atmosphere at a particular angle breaks into spectral colors as it bounces off minerals, soils, and plants. Meanwhile, the wind blows through as procreation, predation, and a million life and death dramas unfold within the landscape.

Such complex design surely indicates a Creator who is beyond nature. The spiraling of galaxies and spinning of electrons are the whorls of God’s fingerprints on His creation. The Gospel of John refers to the Creator as the Logos (translated Word or Intellect). How vast and complete must the mind of God be! For me it is unavoidable that thoughts and feelings about the landscape involve God. In other words, landscape has a supernatural component.

So I am interested in a scene for both its natural and supernatural aspects. When I paint the landscape, I essentially create a pattern of colors and shapes on a flat surface. This painting is a product of a human mind and human hands. I have just engaged a third realm - that of the manmade or artificial. This is the long way of explaining why my paintings look as they do. They describe the intersection of the natural, supernatural, and artificial worlds.

Besides occupying these three realms, I hope that my paintings will present a type of spatial paradox. What I mean is that I intend for the work to be seen in two competing ways:

- First, that the image will be seen as a representational depiction of the landscape. I want viewers to experience the sense of wonder and three-dimensional exploration I have when I am in the landscape.
- Second, that the faceted surface will draw the viewer in close to enjoy the work for its abstract, two-dimensional qualities.

These paintings are much more to me than mere records of places I have been. They express my deepest thoughts about myself, my planet, and my God. They express the natural, supernatural, and artificial worlds.