In a world where images flow like water, where digital media, video, film, print, and the Internet overwhelm our senses on a daily basis, one needs to examine the role of the artist as painter and draftsman. Are such artists needed any longer? I think perhaps we are needed more than ever before. As a painter I feel linked to a tradition that is as old as culture itself and will therefore endure as long as culture does. The role of artist is to slow us down from our busy lives and ask us to consider the world around us on a deeper level. In my work this is what I aim to do. The meaning of a painting needn't batter you over the head. It might just be the simple appreciation of the human form or it might be a complex narrative scene or a compelling landscape. Whatever the subject, the viewer is asked to consider their own relationship to the content. A relationship may not exist, but even that can have meaning. This consideration can often take place on a subconscious level. We frequently react to an image without being able to "put it into words" —this is the unique power of visual art.