Inspired by the American southwest and the northern half of Mexico, my most recent paintings were nonetheless a struggle against darkness. Optimism of some kind must be the first step in solutions, and thus cultural solutions, to the problems we care about. Information problems are often the first obstacle in the use of our heads and our hearts. Our collective struggle against left brain domination including through technology’s brain preferences matters more than conventional emphases typically allow it. My recent formless abstract painting antithetically counters the other extreme of cartoonish form, but I realized what I’m painting is light and plants.