To express myself as passionately and effectively as I can, I use the common language of reality in my work. I depict what I see, but more profoundly, I must communicate what the subject matter means to me on an emotional, intuitive, and symbolic level. A portrait must look exactly like the person in front of me, but it must also reveal their character, disposition, and even how I might view them as an archetype. Communicating the “unseen” in what I see influences my choices about composition, color, paint dynamics, and the energy I pour into a painting.