Drawing is an important part of my process.  Generally, before I start a painting I make several drawings.  The drawings, usually done from life, help with working out formal issues like composition, and value relationships.  The drawings also provide a reference for the painting and, quite often, I paint from the drawing rather than from life or from a photo.  

The process of drawing, of looking intently at the object or scene in front of me, is a way of learning about what I am looking at.  The initial sketch, done rapidly, trying to capture in a quick way gets edited, corrected, erased, redrawn, erased again, on and on as the drawing develops.  When it goes well, the drawing begins to reveal the essence of the object or scene.  Details get added or subtracted and the structure of the drawing becomes clearer.

While drawing usually comes prior to painting, and is primarily part of my painting process, I occasionally make "finished" drawings.  Sometimes these are not related to paintings I am working on, sometimes they are.  The Maine garden drawings and the Crowd are examples of drawings for which there are not corresponding paintings.

I have only include a few of my drawings here.  I hope to update and change this page frequently.  So check back often.