Two primary questions shape the way I paint and continue to learn in the studio, and these same questions direct the way I instruct studio courses at the university level. I place specific focus on the relation and balance of formal issues to subject and content, with the knowledge that it is incredibly difficult, especially in the classroom, to successfully combine these elements. How does one create a painting that stands as an interesting, autonomous work, rather than simply an illustration of a project prompt, subject, idea, or trend? How can one allow a material to assert itself as a medium - how can one ‘let paint be paint’ - while achieving a desired outcome conceptually? In my own practice, I pose these questions as specific to painting, drawing, and collage; however, conscious consideration of the connection of medium and form to content is adaptable and valuable to any area of studio practice, and is an approach I take to all courses taught. My goal as an instructor is to help my students become directly and continually aware of these questions in their studio routines, however varied those routines might be.