Artist Statement

I strive for contrast, both visually and conceptually. My recent body of work investigates figurative oil paintings that juxtapose realism with abstraction to expose the psychoactive influences of individuals. Backgrounds are less a physical space and more a symbol of emotion or mental agitation. Figures are painted in a highly realistic fashion in order to cross that line when paint becomes more then just pigment on canvas. My intention is to simultaneously express representational and non-pictorial; simplistic yet complex; beautiful while also disturbing.

Travel

Seeing how other people live and do art is extremely important to me. I have had the chance to backpack around Europe and see some of the most respected art in the world. I saw Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Turner. But sometimes the most inspiring work is not in museums or galleries. Among many street artists and musicians, I saw men tediously drawing on the sidewalk amazing reproductions of famous art, only for them to be washed away by the morning rain.  In Prague I met a women who had been painting while she was behind the Iron Curtain. Her paintings were so strong and raw with the reality of what she was experiencing. I realized art was not just creating something beautiful, it can be a vessel for things you cannot express with words.

In the summer of 2006 I took a trip to Cruz Verde, a small village in the Dominican Republic. I went there with the Sister Island Project, a nonprofit organization that brings volunteers to teach and help out within the community. During my time there I taught art to children ages 4 to 15, immersing myself in their culture. I immediately fell in love with these people, and ended up taking over 600 photos.

When I came home, I started painting from those photos. I was immensely inspired by my experiences, and wanted to portray something of what I felt when I was in this small village. Although the Dominicans there were extremely poor, I was stunned by the happiness and excitement that radiated from them. I was so inspired by the contrast between their lives and their aptitude towards their lives. I couldn't help but compare these Dominican children to American children, who have virtually everything, but are so unhappy and dissatisfied.

With these pieces, it is my goal to portray a feeling, an emotion through my paint strokes; the contrast between these gorgeous happy children and the world they live in, which to them is so beautiful in its rawness . I can only hope the viewer will translate these marks and understand even a fraction of what I felt. And maybe, from these paintings, inspired by experiences, will blossom some idea or thought in the viewer. In this way, there will have been made a connection between two totally different worlds, two completely unique ways of life, and I will be successful.