This body of work began in the late 1970s and has continued to the present. These paintings consist of self-portraits, portraits of family and friends, and images that emerge from the imagination and from memory. Often while a painting is being made, a image may seem purely imagined, but later the painter will remember having where he has actually seen it. Memories of childhood are the most consistent component and are present throughout the work.
        The painting process happens somewhat like a 100 meter sprint on a short burst of energy. For the painter, a picture jumps out of him like a muscle cramp or a sneeze, and he seeks to control it to the same extent as a rodeo rider can control a bull. The best he can hope for is to hold on to whatever is happening on the canvas. Being taken for a ride by a picture is not unlike enjoying a trip on a roller coaster.
        A painting may start with a sketch, or develop directly on the canvas. Once the painting is started, the main subject usually does not change. Like a child being conceived, it already has all the genes, but the surrounding details will evolve. Sometimes a picture sits for weeks or months before the work resumes.
        The work functions as a personal emotional release for the painter, a letting go of tension building from within. The actual painting proceeds by moving forward without hesitation or correction. Once the energy is drained, the artist needs to stop painting or risks ruining the picture.
        The thing that is fundamental to all this work is that it somehow connects to emotions generated by everyday life. Painting is a way of accessing emotions that are internally present but otherwise unexpressed. This is like a person who goes through the life without mirror, suddenly seeing his face in some reflective surface.