My primary focus is portraiture and figurative painting. I seek a connection with the model that I can translate to the surface. The “Floating Throne” painting is a portrait of my friend Ashley on her houseboat on the water. I captured her sitting on a pile of chairs on the top deck of the houseboat. For a moment I saw her as queen of her small floating kingdom sitting on her throne and surrounded by her entourage. I asked her to pose for small study that developed later in a bigger painting.