The images in this collection were created, not in a light-filled studio, with paints, watercolors, crayons, chalk or pencils. The easel was a Macintosh laptop computer, the canvas was a digital drawing tablet, and the studio was anywhere I happened to be when inspiration came; frequently during spare time on my concert tours. Whether it was in the back of the tour bus, the tray table of a plane, backstage dressing room, or a hotel room, my palette came from the application software, and the subject matter ranged from my musician comrades with whom I spend a large percentage of my time, recording and performing concerts here in the U.S., Europe and in Japan, to photographs, scans of old newspaper clippings and video still frames. Once the raw material (sketches) had been assembled they were altered and manipulated, utilizing the endless variety of choices the computer makes available.

For some people, the computer conjures up the idea of automation and cold mechanical precision, the opposite of what I hope these images convey. For me, the computer is only a tool to achieve an end, and functionally to me no different from paint & canvas. What I have tried to achieve is a “painterly” look, with warmth & mystery. During my work on these pieces I have noticed many similarities with the way I arrive at musical choices; spontaneity and improvisation always being important ingredients. I believe it's the deviation from rules that often leads to the most inspired creations. I look for form and balance, but am unable to resist being distracted by the surprises that inevitably appear during the composition process.

I have so often advised students, and pushed myself to “finish the work”. In music it is the double bar lines that indicate the end of a composition. In working with art, finding the end is more elusive. You always feel it could be better if you just change that one little .....something. Deadlines, I have found, are a very practical way of solving this problem. The following are some examples of what this musician sees.