Nearly all the art I produce is computer-aided, which means that I use a computer to help me paint. I am careful to remind my admirers that I'm the artist, not the computer. It's merely a tool, like a brush or a chisel.

There are many drawing programs on the market, from the PaintBrush that comes with Windows, to the more advanced programs like the one I use, Corel Draw.

I start off with a nearly blank page (figure 1). I say "nearly blank" because before I begin, I make a rectangle a quarter to a half an inch in from the edge to remind me where the mat on the finished work will be. I also mark the center point of the page and do a few other formatting steps, much like how a watercolorist will stretch the paper or the oil painter will gesso the canvas.

Then I begin painting. I usually start with an idea about shapes and how they interact. "Trail" (figure 2) began with the big rectangular shape (it's actually a trapezoid, but we're not getting technical here) and the five wedges partially overlapping it. I felt it was interesting how the interlocking wedges worked with the larger shape. My beginning ideas are usually no more complicated than that.

Next I begin to imagine various shapes and how they might interact with the shapes currently on the page. I do this by running my eye along the edges of each shape. I often move my hand or finger when I do this to make it easier to feel the influence. I "sketch" a potential shape with my finger or with the mouse on the screen, to get an idea of how the potential shape will be impacted by the shapes present. If I like the feel of the object, I draw it in. Again in "Trail", the circular objects directly behind the five wedges interact with the wedges and form a kind of well which draws the eyes from the wedges into itself (Figure 3). I continue until I feel the painting is done, or at least done enough. As someone once said, "A painting is never finished. It simply stops in interesting places." That takes a week or two for a painting to get to that stage.

Once the work is done (Figure 4), I turn it into notecards, small short-run prints, and larger, one-of-a-kind prints. The notecards and small prints I currently produce at home. For the larger, unique prints, I send a digital copy to a special print shop, one that specializes in fine art. They print a small copy of the painting, the proof. I check the print and verify that the colors are correct and that everything printed properly. If everything is fine, I have the print shop print up a full size copy on either archival quality photography paper, water-color paper or on canvas. The paper permits the brightest colors and has the best texture, so that's generally what I use.