I first fell for texture in the eighties when I painted my friend Dena’s portrait. Dena had the big hair that metal bands loved to wear. To create the hair I painted paper and tore long strips to emulate the look. I loved the torn raw edges. The layering, drawing, painting, and the build-up of the surface were addictive. Now I’ve moved on to apply this technique to most of my work. You can see it in the dogs, landscapes, flowers, and beach scenes. I create my own paper by painting on rice paper, old homework, sheet music…anything you can tear. Sometimes I’ll even put fabric with raw edges in the work. My process then seems to be: Draw. Paint. Tear. Repeat. Viola!