After the rather florid recreations of the Hudson River paintings, I returned to the particular qualities of my immediate environment of Houston. The sky rather than the land began to interest me as the most dynamic and symbolic representation of the Houston landscape. Coincidentally I began taking flying lessons and experiencing this new dimension in a unique way. The Stargazing paintings are the result of this shift of attention. Perpetual dusky light over the city means that stars, those most romantic of symbols, are seldom seen, and stargazing is futile.