My wife had a career as an elementary school teacher and principal.  As a result, I have observed children’s art for many years and have found a number of interesting common characteristics. Speaking generally, children use simplified shapes, vivid unmixed colour and compositions that line up subject matter along a horizontal line.  In schools, the subject matter is based on themes related to special events, seasons, and holidays throughout the year. Children’s lack of formal drawing skills often results in an amazing array of unique expressions and interpretations of their world.  In effect, these children become remarkable symbol makers.These techniques have served as inspirations for my work.

Within this framework I have moved away from specific subjects to a more general or universal result: from representation to abstraction and from depiction to design. I have found that applying these methods to almost any subject can result in my own work becoming more expressive, unique, and symbolic in nature. This in turn engages the viewer in interpreting the work in their own subjective manner and suggests they look for a higher meaning than just depiction.