In our everyday lives, there are times when we are gripped with a whole-body pleasure, a spine-thrill of delight, when time seems to slow and we are hyper-present. I am trying to understand what it is about these extraordinary experiences in real life, moments in stories or movies that move me so: the way Elwood P. Dowd says “And the evening wore on” in Harvey . . .the recording of my father’s voice telling “The Story of the Rose” . . . the way the light falls on my little girl’s hair . . . All these moments have the impact of something pure and raw. Since 2002, my paintings have focused on experiences with particular friends or family members. Because each painting is based on a specific exchange, it tends to have its own set of parameters and challenges. I use painting to focus on and wrap myself in these moments. By building the experience, I begin to understand what about it moved me to paint in the first place.