Why I Make Pictures

I’ve drawn from the time I was five years old and my mother gave me a pencil and some paper and told me to keep myself busy while she cleaned house.  Mostly I drew horses. This was because my grandparents had a farm in rural South Carolina, and when they bought it, a retired Tennessee Walker mare named Trixie was part of the deal.  Trixie and I were best buddies.  When I visited the farm, I would groom her and feed her sugar cubes. In return she would let me ride her bareback.  Those horse drawings were a way for me to stay connected to that place.

My grandfather used to say that the reason he bought the farm was so that his grandchildren would know what life there was like and would love it as much as he did. All I can say is I'm so glad he did.  Summers on the farm were the most formative times of my life.  The air I breathed, the food I helped to harvest and then eat, the nature I worked (and played) in - all this is who I am today. 

The illustrations I am creating now draw directly from the time I spent living and learning on the farm.