Growing up in a city which had many voices, I found it easier to follow stories that people told through their body movements and facial expressions. It became my way of learning about the world, its people, and the way they lived. From an early age, listening became a very visual experience. My art became their story.
Since then, I have pursued a study in painting and sculpture using a variety of materials to express my view of these stories. As I acquired knowledge of mediums, as well as life, I fell in love with the making of objects, and the ability to draw from the portrait. Like human life, glass has both light and fragility. It closely resembles the way I see people, their relationships, and their struggles. Bronze has strength and history. Paint has warmth and memory. In the painted portraits, I have the quickness of the movements of the brush to express the subject. The person, who has allowed me their image, sits nude, exposing their physical self while color strikes out of the flat plain to the viewer.
I use any material that I believe suits the making of the narrative. I respect my subject, the gift of their image and the universal narrative they permit me to tell.
In the portraits of friends and acquaintances, I strive to convey more than their physical representation. Each portrait is intended to present a piece of the subject's story; a narrative of their present situation in life. Whether it is, daydreaming about a fairy-tale marriage, hiding away from the pain of a difficult childhood, or fighting death while holding on to the strength of love, my aim is to capture this story and tell it visually.
My experience, technical knowledge, and experimentation has allowed me to realize my artistic voice, and through this, establish my purpose - to honor life, emotions, and experiences in a way that will invoke thought and grace. It is how I see people; from the outside in.
