THERE SEEMS TO BE LITTLE JOY IN YOUR PAINTINGS.
IS THIS INTENTIONAL AS A THEME THROUGHOUT YOUR WORK?

I am dumbfounded that anyone would see my paintings as joyless. I enjoy painting each tiny hair on someone's head and every blade of grass in a field. I think that painting details does for me what meditation does for other people. I love drawing and cutting and pasting and watching to see the way things fall into place when everything is right. I laugh out loud all the time at the fortunate accidents and jokes that sneak up onme when I'm not expecting them. If I'm not able to paint for more than a week or two I get cranky and start getting nightmares, but luckily I'm now able to paint almost all my waking hours so I'm one of the happiest people I know.