Churn Series Statement

I’m very interested in various forms of portraiture, figurative art, storytelling, typography, and the more dreamlike aspects of contemporary realism. I work primarily in oil paint and gravitate toward works that have a bit of danger and strangeness to them, but I also like to have fun.

“Churn” is a series of paintings of fabric in motion. It brings to the canvas my fascination with fabric’s almost liquid quality. In motion, fabric can become oceanic, seemingly vast in its interaction with light, and painting such movement has become a meditative experience for me, as I hope it is for the viewer. This series is perhaps my most intentional foray into abstraction while still remaining fundamentally realist. I wanted to paint still lives that are anything but still.

War Boy Series Statement
I’m very interested in various forms of portraiture, figurative art, storytelling, typography, and the more dreamlike aspects of contemporary realism. I work primarily in oil paint and gravitate toward works that have a bit of danger and strangeness to them, but I also like to have fun.

My “War Boy” paintings typically feature a child wearing a military helmet with antlers on it, posed in scenarios of violence and play. Ultimately, this series is an exploration of how violence and play are inherent to being human, as they are how we learn to navigate interactions with others. In fact, I believe a great part of growing up consists of learning how to distinguish between the two. Exploring this dynamic, however, has brought to mind the tragic global history of child soldiers, childhood trauma, and the many ways children can grow up too quickly or not at all. This series is very close to my heart both as a parent and as a former kid.