Through the medium of oil painting on wood panels I embark on a quest to encapsulate the essence of the American West. My connection to this area is rooted in a profound respect for its beauty and wildlife. In each of my paintings I strive to capture the spirit of the West. That starts with lacing up my hiking boots and getting out in the wilderness. Nothing gets the creative juices flowing like seeing a wild grizzly bear, waking up to the sound of an elk bugling, or seeing a massive herd of bison. My creative process is as follows: When I return from a hiking trip I have a hard drive full of reference photos that I have taken and I can’t wait to use them to create paintings inspired by the experiences I just had. I start by cataloging reference photos and pull aside the ones that I think will make a great painting. I then move to my sketchbook to begin fleshing out my ideas using that reference. The next step is using Photoshop to arrange photos, sometimes as many as 20, to fit the composition I came up with in my sketchbook. Once I have a digital mock up finished I will draw and transfer the image to a birch wood panel and begin to paint. I start with thin washes of oil paint to get some basic colors down. The second pass begins with thicker oil paint to solidify the details, animal anatomy, color, and value. A third and sometimes fourth or fifth pass is used to add texture and fine-tune the painting. Once I am satisfied with the image and it is fully dry I give it a varnish and call it finished. Every step of the process is done by me from cutting my own panels, executing the paintings, and even making my own hardwood frames. My ultimate goal is that my work will inspire people to go out and see the wonders of the American West and to help conserve the wild places I love so much.