Creating paintings of the natural landscape, my work constantly allows me to explore new places while documenting them in paint. All photographed by myself and then painted with a hyperrealist approach, using a light application of oil paints and vivid colors, as a way to relive moments and share my memories. Over many years I have traveled extensively exploring the beauty of 15 countries and painting from photos taken along my travels. My recent paintings are based on photographs I took while traveling and living in parts of the world, including scenes from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Norway, Hong Kong, Italy and Ireland. Being in the hyperrealism genre, I try to capture the true essence of a place, the emotion it gives, its importance to the community and my experience within it. My interest is to continue exploring new places within my own country of Canada, showing the beauty of the landscapes experienced. In the last few years my attention has also been drawn to community murals. Volunteering and working in the community has always been a passion of mine, now taking my skill in fine arts to bring myself and my students (as a high school teacher) into the community with art related initiatives. Executing these murals has given myself and the community a sense of acceptance, love and unity. When you define a community, it’s not only those who live in the same region or may have similar interests, but it's the support and love for each other’s similarities and differences. In creating, the community shows support with honking horns of excitement, members stopping by to take photos and daily visits to watch and support the progress. I am inspired that something as simple as painting a mural, would have such an effect positively on a group of people. The meaning behind the murals are truly shown in the people who express so much joy and support during the creation. I believe there are many different lenses to view the world through. The aim in my work is creating a lens that captures the inner beauty of a location and moment in time.