The plants are anything but an arbitrary visual device. A large portion of my youth to adulthood was spent next to a large forest area in the country. Friends and I built tree houses and defended territories, we explored fallen trees and mini swamps and hidden paths. Alone it was a great place for escape. Lately I’ve really needed a place like that to escape into. I often visit the lakefront of Chicago or walk around the Lincoln Park Conservatory. Naturally the plants found their way into my work, although my plants are mostly ficticeous. I prefer to create my jungly forest from imagination. I find my minds abstracted idea of foliage to be more satisfying than duplicating the look of real plants in the artificial plane of the canvas.