The "Kentucky Dirt" ongoing series of paintings serves to document places, people and things throughout the state of Kentucky. Subject matter may range from the obvious to the obscure. What makes these paintings extra special is that I blend actual soil from each location into the acrylic paint, so that when you view my painting of my childhood farm, you are also viewing in some small way a portion of the actual farm itself. It's like getting not just a work of art but a souvenir, a keepsake. In a sense, I've been making these "dirt paintings" for many, many years. I tend to be very permissive when it comes to foreign material that finds its way onto my canvases. Some artists think it somehow spoils the work if the viewer can see dirt, tiny insects, lint, hairs, stray brush bristles and other detritus trapped in the paint. I, on the other hand, think it lends integrity to the work. Since the state of Kentucky has no shortage of interesting subjects for me to choose from, the Dirt paintings will no doubt continue to occupy me for the rest of my life, and will provide others a chance to experience my home state in a little more intimate and tactile way.