My great grandmother told the greatest stories. She had stories from days before telephones, televisions and automobiles.
She always amazed me. She was the wisest person I had ever met, and I always thought, “What a life she’s lived!”
She made me want to be old just so I could share my life experiences with younger generations.

I am attracted to aged faces because I am eager to hear their stories. There is so much history in an aged face.
So many memories. So many experiences. The lines of age – a road map of a life lived.
Each crevice holds a story:
     Crows feet of happiness.
     Lines of smiling, laughing, crying, worrying, living.
     Lines of sorrow.
     Lines of new beginnings.
     Hard times. Good times. In between times.

My curiosity is heightened. I want to learn from them. I want to hear about their lives.
I want to know what makes the light behind their eyes shine.

I have always been captivated with eyes. Conversations can be held in a glance.
Eyes tell the truth. Life can be disguised, but the eyes reveal what lies within the heart.
I try to capture rare moments in a single glance.

More often than not, I capture myself within the glance of another. My own face is found within the lines of those I paint. They are my life lines. They keep me connected to a deeper whole as my own experiences become a line on the face of another; cleverly disguised and tucked away as a tiny secret.