I paint peas-as a symbol of peace.  One day, I saw a bumper sticker that read:

"Visualize Whirled Peas."  This amusing pun stood starkly amid a depiction of spiraling green balls.  The idea resonated in me to the point that is is now the dominant recurring theme in my work.

I believe that we all have a very real ability to generate and disperse positive energy throughout our universe, and through the incorporation of "peas" into my work, I am in fact painting "Peace" on both conscious and subconscious levels.

My work leads me into a thousand different worlds as I imagine peas in everything. I dearly love my craft-I love the feel of paint and color applied to canvas and paper.  The process is intergral to my very being and it is something that I simply must do.

The delivery of a message through humor is also very important to me.  As a shockingly brutal and chaotic world unfolds before us, I find humor necessary to temper the sometimes overwhelming sensations of dejection and helplessness we all tend to experience, especially as the seemingly unstoppable machinations of violence continue to win their ongoing battles for our attention.  Humor has a tendency to insinuate itself into the core of our being, beneath the very nose of our oft-guarded psyches, to plant the seed of a greater truth in each of our hearts. The pathway to peace and our pursuit of it should bot be viewed as a somber and thankless duty, but rather as a celebration of the best that lies deep within each of us.  Humor is extraordinary and powerful in its ability to help us see things in a better light. To that end, the use of humor as a tool is absolutely essential for us to not only survive, but indeed thrive in this ever-more complex and modern world.

Peas Be With You,

Julie Ross