Boyer Gonzales (1909-1987) was a well respected figure as a teacher and as a painter. He wrote in 1983 "...my work stems from visual experiences, but it is not representational in the traditional sense. I strive to build "form-life" that allows the painting to exist for itself and have a spirit of its own. Each painting begins as an adventure. The end result may be closely related to earlier work or this family resemblance may not be apparent. I can't account for the path that the adventure follows, but I seem to know when the resulting work looks and feels 'right'."