It is my purpose as an artist to remind viewers that all trees - as well as all grasses, sunsets, faces, manes - everything in life is full of lights. In fact, we and our surroundings are light. And color is light vibrating at different frequencies. I am fascinated as an artist with its effects.

Oil has always been my primary medium. I love oil's depth and translucency of color. I love the texture; the feel as I apply it to canvas. I get excited about the way the colors vibrate and interact.

Oil can be applied in the thinnest veil or in thick impasto. It can be blended, layered, or applied as separate chunks of pure color. Depending on the state of the paint, in terms of dry, wet, or in-between, these applications have an enormous range of potential effects. This range is similar to the effect of a half-halt applied to a horse in an arena versus a half-halt given to a horse cantering with six companions down an open road toward home. It is a matter of knowing the medium intimately.

Correctly portraying form is crucial. The subject is a vehicle for light and color, but that subject must work first as a realistic painting. The conformation of the horse must be correct, the wheels on the rig must look round, and there are all the wonderful intricacies of the harness. Only when all the elements are accurate can I revel in the green/gold reflective light in the mane and tail, or the fact that the star and snip read true cobalt blue, not white.

Working en plein aire is like a musician practicing scales, or a distance rider practicing 10-meter circles. It sharpens form and is beneficial to do fairly often. You have to work quickly, before the light drastically changes. Painting outside forces you to observe and to make visual sense of what you observe - fast.

One morning while doing chores, I passed a bay mare drinking from a watering trough, with the light coming from behind her. That mare looked violet and blue. I took a roll of film, but the photos had dull black shadows, yet they did give me the form and the stimulation to remember what captivated me. It is why painting en plein air is so valuable.

While I enjoy painting all breeds, I always come back to painting working draft horses. The big boys have a certain magic and mystique. They represent a way of life which is, of necessity, in close contact with our earth. The working draft team on our farm in New Hampshire has done it all, from hauling wood to cutting ice, sugaring, ploughing, cultivating, and hay or sleigh rides. Last spring we had a manure spreading party, where our friends brought their teams and everyone spread manure all day.