I am a painter. I do not reject the term artist, but I believe in it’s present context the title spans much that is of little interest to me. I do not aspire to the idea of artist as arbiter of culture. I do embrace the idea that art can heal, that it can console , that it can show the commonality between us all. My goals are simple: to illuminate aspects of reality via the medium of pigment on canvas. In this regard, the greatest illumination is personal and in my case, arrives at the point where the process of painting begins. My goal is nothing less than liberation. Painting is the process, my transformation is it’s goal. I hope in the journey there are others who may also see, through my work, where I am pointing, but what I seek is not essentially social. In an age of cynicism I remain a romantic. john charles brooks 2007