I paint because I enjoy it. I like it when the image develops a realistic quality, but I don’t have the time or inclination to paint realism. I view my work as illusion. I like it when you look at it and imagine that you are looking at reality, sometimes the image seems to jump off the canvas. That is what I call the reality illusion. When you get up close it looks like a painting; If it is indistinguishable from a photograph then what is the point? Having said that, I am in awe of artists who can paint ultra-realism.