I use this method for painting tree forms and other highly textured subjects. One of the most exciting aspects of Minnesota life is the experience of changing seasons. Colorful thickets of autumn leaves, exciting snow-covered winter trees, exuberant spring blossoms, and luxuriant summer foliage have all stirred my feelings and stimulated me to paint. Inspired by Frederick Wong and Tseng-Ying Pang, I have found that crinkling rice paper, manipulating it to the desired texture, and painting on the wrinkled surface is the most natural way to capture the tree forms. The end result is a combination of East and West, and abstraction and realism. Realistic images are actually built up from an accretion of small abstract fragments.