Sketching birds and other natural elements directly from life is very important to me, and has been one of the single greatest sources of improvement for me as an artist. Going afield with binoculars, sketchbook, and paintbox, I can record more directly what I feel about what I've seen. Though each sketch captures only fragments of what I see, collectively these pieces find their ways to my hand and heart. Once back in his studio, it is as if those impressions I "inhaled" outside can now be exhaled at my easel.

Painting landscape studies on location, or "en Plein Air" as the French Impressionists called it, is direct, uncontrived painting done for the pure joy and education of it. Continually changing light forces these studies to last only an hour or two, forcing me to work quickly and spontaneously. This helps me distill the scene to emphasize the elements which originally attracted me to the spot, and has facilitated the emergence of my personal style of painting.