Art is an attempt to express the inexpressible, and at its best provokes a sense of wonder, whether through its technique, composition, subject matter, use of color, or detail. All art is a reflection of choices made by the artist – both submissions and omissions – and the best art is the expression of a personal truth, describing the world the artist promotes. As Bob Dylan said, “Art is the perpetual motion of illusion. The highest purpose of art is to inspire. What else can you do? What else can you do for anyone but inspire them.” I am basically a self-taught artist – reading about technique and history, watching artists on PBS, and trial and error. Although I always aspired to draw and paint, my talent was wanting, and I envied those who could. I began painting while recovering from a head injury that left me in a coma, when my Mom let me borrow her oil paints during my convalescence. My first painting was simple, but I was encouraged enough to create a second using what I had learned about mixing colors, blending, and shading. My initial focus was at studying art history, rather than technique, in order to create an artistic sensibility based on how artists view the world and communicate those views through their works. As Picasso said, “In truth, what is a painter? A collector who wants to gather a collection by painting himself the pictures he likes in the works of others”. Beginning with my third painting, I began using the Bob Ross technique, which helped me further develop my skills, which I subsequently adapted to serve my own ends. As the technique is primarily used for landscapes, that is where my initial focus lay. But my vision was to move beyond simple landscapes, and I began adding elements such as buildings, figures, and animals. Ultimately, my skills caught up with my vision, which allowed me to create my Ireland Collection, which includes about 100 scenes of landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes inspired by the 32 counties of Ireland. One Irish ex-patriot, in particular, recognized about 75% of the scenes, and was able to name the sites. I had long been painting one winter scene each year for use as my Mom’s (later my) Christmas cards. These works inspired the curator in my hometown when she named me Orland Park Artist of the Month, and she asked me to create more winter scenes for the exhibition. Winter scenes then dominated my easel for several months. My subject matter has always been diverse, but my gradually improving technique has given me the confidence to add trains, and expand my works featuring American Indian themes – the history of both have always interested and inspired me. Both topics often include landscapes, which keeps me in touch with my artistic roots. While I continue to work mostly with oils, I have worked with acrylics, watercolors, oil pastels, tempera, and pencil. I have learned concepts from each that has informed my overall technique in all media. I favor acrylics for paintings of sporting events. Although I do not categorize my technique, one gallerist has described it as “Stylized Realism”, which is a fair characterization. I hope to one day reconcile the creativity of my earlier works that I employed to compensate for my raw execution, with my more accomplished technical skills.