PD: Symmetry and contrasting forms are also important aspects of your work. How do you use form as a tool to construct the narratives in your work?
DA: To me, powerful, dramatic contrasts--of color, shape, light, mood, and especially all of the above--create the most intriguing images. I don't try to think about it too much, but I am aware of the need to develop an overall balance of organic vs. geometric elements; warm and cool colors; soft vs. hard edges; light and dark areas; vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines; depth of field (the illusion of near vs. far); mass and volume (the sense of solid shapes); and what a former professor called "a walk around:" a "path" for the eye to follow which leads the viewer in and around a painting. A careful and regular study of light grants you an ability to effectively implement aspects of good composition. The more you do the work early on to master the basics, the more intuitive they become, so you can focus on your deepest reasons for making art.