Artist Statement

The purpose of my work is to bring us together. The viewer may find themselves making a wordless connection as they and another person stare at the same piece and see different things. No one will see everything the same way. My body of work is an exploration of mental health and what it means to be human. I “dress up” my subjects in colorful and outlandish things that are influenced by my background in musical theater from my childhood. Organic elements are used to evoke a sense of metamorphosis. The fusion of the natural world and the human figure creates an ethereal quality that echoes that of Alphonse Mucha and Rene Magritte. My use of vibrant color and fantastical dream-like imagery is drawn from my love for animated films by Walt Disney and Hayao Miyazaki.

I like mark making because I want my work to have energy. It is an essential part of my artistic process. Every stroke carries a weight that expresses meaning and purpose for
each piece. Emotional and mental states are shown with marks, value, and color. I waste as little paint as possible and use leftover paint on my palette to create non-objective pieces that reflect some element of another piece. Dried paint is used to create texture to imitate plant or fungus growth. My process is almost sculptural, as I use every line and stroke to describe the subject’s structure. I try to breathe life into everything I make. I like working with organic shapes because I feel like I can convey more meaning that way than with geometric forms.