Gesture is the underlying concept in all of my life drawings and is the "life force" of the piece. Gesture represents what the figure is doing in space, the attitude of the pose. The more that I study a particular person and his/her movements, the more I am able to visually convey that person's physical and/or emotional state of being. The style of most of the pastel and charcoal drawings is realistic, and I focus on accurate proportions, structure and form. My use of color; however, tends to be expressive to produce a highly charged or emotional effect. I work with many layers of pastel and charcoal, using hatch and cross-hatch. I build, wipe out and re-build specific areas of the drawing in search of the most significant marks.

In the portrait paintings and drawings, I am interested in the effects of color and light on form as well as expressing a mood. I use light and brightly saturated color in most of the drawings as a means to direct the eye through the composition and to create a focal point. The portrait paintings from the Henrietta series are studies of Henrietta McCullough, a blind woman who sees much more than most people. It was a challenge to capture her character, including her blindness, but not to focus solely on her inability to see through her eyes. She is worldly, wise and well-connected. The layers of her personality are expressed through each layer of paint. The self-portrait focuses on under-lighting and saturated color on a toned ground to exemplify the mood. It is a psychological study of the self. Other portrait paintings and drawings focus on the "states of mind" exhibited by the sitter.