I have titled this series of paintings “St. Elmo’s Fire”, which refers to a phenomenon where energy is visibly manifested before storms.  Air becomes electrically charged and starts to glow around angled structures, such as church steeples, ship's masts, or an airplane's wings.  It is not so much the storm that I want to show, but the feeling before it.  It is the feeling of tension and apprehension -- something that is sensed but unseen.  These paintings are an attempt to make this visible by focusing on the dichotomy between order and chaos, opposing elements that are defined through the work process.  A section of the painting is ordered, representing the parts  of our lives that we can control.  This is contrasted with areas symbolizing the chaotic world of our existence.  The natural feeling of anxiety and tension in an environment of apprehension that is represented in my work is a reflection of my own as well as national uneasiness with the state of the world.  Living with the unknown may be frightening and uncertain, but having awareness can illuminate the order within chaos.