Artist Statement:

What struck me most during my visit to Bond Life Sciences Center were the stunning printed images of very tiny things such as an assortment of cells in a mouse's ear, the arrangement of cells in a cob of corn, a cell in the process of dividing, and so many many more generally unseen subjects so beautifully captured. I wanted to paint them even knowing I could never do them justice.

A child standing in the rain is an image I painted several months ago with no real purpose in mind. I was playing on paper while thinking about distraction versus absorption in the land of the fascinating. How fully and completely attention can be given! Here is a child without protection in a lightening storm who, rather than run for shelter, is smiling down at a wormy creature she/he has just spied. The child's interest has peaked to the point that she/he is virtually unaware of the threatening surroundings.

This is the way a novelty can grab us. When we've never witnessed a thing before, there is something to discover. That something could lead to knowing what we do not know; that something might explain what we haven't yet been able to explain or lead us to where there is even more to discover. To see beyond the surface, to understand further, or to (perhaps) visit creation is the historical pursuit of intelligent beings. It is one of our obtainable joys.

Discovery grips us; it invites us back to learn more. In some way it makes us more fully human. It begins with delight and, if followed, rewards us in spades.