My images begin as Polaroid SX-70 photographs. This manipulation process initially attracted me because of its semblance to painting, which allows me to physically interact with the medium. The resulting images have a beguiling ambiguity/duality between photography and painting, realism and impressionism. It is fascinating to me that photography's intrinsic nature perpetuates the perception of realism in the eye and mind, yet is an illusion that is capable of revealing much more. The emulsion of the Time-Zero film is very soft at first, much like the consistency of wet paint. I alter the emulsion with a variety of tools to blend colors and create lines and textures. This reworking of the emulsion creates a very painterly, textured image as well as enhancing its emotional and artistic expressions. I then make a 4 x 5 negative and enlarge each image myself in a signed and numbered limited edition. This enlargement further enhances the painterly textural qualities and intensifies the delicate detail.