My work is focused on assembling together three distinct movements in contemporary art: Street Art, Relational Art and the resurgence of representational drawing and painting.
The relational form of my work grows out of my interests in making fine art and its processes available to a greater number of individuals in our society. I often work face to face with individuals who are marginalized, overlooked or underrepresented in our communities. Portrait painting is a vehicle for building strong, trusting and fruitful friendships with these individuals. My process allows my friends and I to communicate an authentic expression of personal identity through painting and writing. Each sitter is invited to compliment their facial and bodily expressions with a hand written statement. These testimonies are open-ended platforms allowing the person to voice their concerns and emotions on various topics they feel are essential to the individual, our community and the world. Studio choices such as color, style, surface, and facial expression are made in collaboration with the individual being painted. We work to find a balance between the classical techniques found in figurative drawing and the loose, emotional and colorful expressions of Impressionism and Street Art. The monumental scale and confrontational view of each painting add a dramatic element that seeks the viewer’s attention. My work is both a celebration of community and an attempt to break down the walls of racial, economic, and religious differences. Ultimately, I hope to give viewers a heightened sense of shared humanity with individuals or groups whom they feel unable to relate.