To paint is a grand act of collaboration between the artist’s hand, the subject, and the canvas; working to immortalize a single moment and elicit a connection between the work and the onlooker. This relationship, and the extension of human presence past its bodily form, is the foundation of my practice. I am confronting not only the physical, external layer that acts as a boundary to the rest of the world, but the emotionally potent and ever elusive inner self. Whether I am representing a friend, family member, or lover, I aim to convey the entirety of that individual and their intricacies by personifying their coverings as an extension of their identity. The folds, drapes, and creases of the body and protective garments are emphatically physical and yet border on abstraction, acting as the catalyst to insert the personality into the canvas space. 

This examination into connection and identity has led me to my latest work, exploring the relationships between highly influential artists of the past, by combining 2 of their most memorable artworks. I unite their distinct flare, styles, color schemes, and brushwork to create powerful paintings that reveal the interface where love was kindled and two individuals drew inspiration from one another. In this way, I explore the art that is derived from loving deeply and with abandon. The work that comes from a place so raw and complicated and mysterious that it gives rise to some of the greatest masterpieces known today. Along the way, learning that it is vital that we understand that no love ever fails, as no experience was ever wasted-even the most destructive becomes fodder for creativity and growth.