I find inspiration from the landscapes around me. I use my phone or take my camera with me and take pictures when I see an interesting tree, field, or cloud. Before I begin, I use several reference pictures to plan my painting. I compose them by incorporating some elements of the various reference pictures into a sketch that guides my work. When I travel around my town, I can’t stop admiring the different elements in nature that are most interesting. Through my art, I place these together to show the beauty of Iowa. I paint en plein air on occasion, but I love to create in my studio, where I can compose my paintings and dive deep into the process of creating from my vision. This helps me express my perception of nature without duplicating it. I try to capture the essence of the subject by using short strokes of colorful paints. Our eyes mix the colors together to create the image rather than mixing the colors on the canvas, creating energy in the painting. Once the process is complete, my heart fills with joy, and there is a sense of great satisfaction. I am working on exploring more of this creative process and hope to create and share the joy with you.