Over the last several years I have departed from the tradition of seascape painting and zoomed in on the water itself. The chaotic-seeming activity within the forms of turbulence seemed new and exciting to me, but I also recognized their origins in the studies of Leonardo da Vinci. I was inspired to take these foamy elements further out of the context of naturalism by sometimes giving them a darkened stage presence, thus heightening the potential drams of water and its primal importance as a substance. Also, my experience as a surfer has given me first-hand knowledge of the ways of water, especially its dangerous beauty.