I am captivated by ancient Chinese paintings. I was intrigued after seeing my first painting. It was so different; it did not have the linear perspective I knew. And, it was thin and tall. I recall thinking, "how strange." I was young, probably 12 or 13 when I saw the painting, but I never really forgot the experience. Over the years, I learned more about the art form and my appreciation for it grew. With guidance from my mentor George DeWolfe and using photography as the medium, I explored creating ancient Chinese painting compositions. This project took the principles of Chinese painting -- planes of view, use of negative space, etc. -- and applied them to compositions with the western landscape.