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I embrace painting as a way to create beauty through the bold use of color and design.  From art lessons at the age of eight, to admittance to duPont Manual High School’s Visual Art Magnet, and also an artist at home, painting continues to be an integral part of my life. 

While I started early in my life focused on drawing, high school introduced me to the richness of oil, and challenged me to increase the scale of my work.  As a Contemporary Realist Painter, oil continues to be my preferred medium, and large scale figure compositions remain my subject of choice.  Through figure compositions, I am able to control subject matter to maximise and depict the interplay of light and hue.  The sensuality of texture and color provide great inspiration.    Rather than depict proportion as exact renditions, I choose to enhance the effect by using bold color contrasts and energized paint strokes.

Each painting begins with an idea that is inspired by either a person or about  people´s daily routines.  I design the composition around the original inspiration in order to create balance through theme, color or content.  The composition is first rendered on canvas through a light charcoal sketch.  Once the drawing is exact, the painting begins.  I paint wet into wet in order to maximise the vibrancy of the paint.  I work through a painting methodically, completing a figure/background idea in totality before focusing on one area of the canvas.  I try to never re-work a section of the canvas that has been painted as I find the result detracts from the richness of the original surface.  I work on only one painting at a time to maintain focus and energy.

My paintings are motivated by the abstract relationships within observational space (that is to say: while I am making “portraits”, I am also very interested in color, shape, texture, pattern, space, etc.). In particular, I would say that “space”, “shape” and “pattern” are elements that dominate my work. The spaces tend to be shallow- they are built out of flat shapes that structure the composition of the portrait. These shallow spaces make the figure, itself, the most prominent part of each piece. And, of course, within the portraits themselves, pattern and color dominate. 

Drawing is also a skill for which I have a passion. Specifically, drawing pictures or creating sketches of whatever comes to mind, but also drawing inspiration and stimulation from the world and people around me. I´m never without a sketchbook on hand so I am constantly drawing and sometimes the drawings are left in the sketchbook and other times they develop into more in-depth ideas and detailed images.

I believe a real artist has a passion for creating, no matter the form. I paint, draw, sculpt, print, and sew with power of insignificance from the initial idea or inspiration. I paint and draw out of loyalty; out of respect of a gift that has been bestowed upon me and out of the constant desire to improve.