I approach my still lifes with colored pencil. To achieve vivid, opaque colors, I use a simple technique called burnishing. Burnishing requires a heavy pressure to deposit a smooth, solid layer of color. This pressure also obliterates the paper's texture, making it possible for me to create incredibly rich color. My paintings are places into which I can escape. I search for patterns and details because I find them the most comforting visually and emotionally. The vases, fabrics, flowers and other objects in my studio are a constant reminder of still life possibilities and places yet to be discovered. I don't have everything planned out when I start a painting. I let things unfold naturally. Having been an artist for well over 20 years, I have learned patience. Details and patterns unfold at their own pace and it is a pace which suits me well. Perhaps the greatest influence on my work is my own love of travel. As a child I was strongly influenced by the colors, patterns and designs of Greece, the fabrics of Turkey and Rumania, and the sights and sounds of France. These influences are a part of me and it is a constant joy to approach a new still life and travel through its composition. .