As I grow older, I am more attracted to the subtlety of art and life.

This is a study I created many years ago. Like many approaches, I grew weary of intense colors and their impact on my art. I no longer needed or found the value in intense stimulation; I felt distracted from what was important. 

I now look deeper into the beautiful woodlands as I drive through my beloved Central Virginia. The redbud and dogwoods are in full bloom now, reflecting light that filters through the old-growth forest around them. This attracts my aesthetic sensibilities more than the well-planned plantings of cultivated yards.

I am enlightened by the diversity of the people I encounter daily and their creative, personal twists on our shared language, the clothes they wear, and their unique approaches to the tasks of their everyday pursuits.

Peeling back the layer of pretense and often manipulation, I find myself becoming calmer, enjoying life more, and by far less stressed.