Artist Statement
While experiencing life in a world that’s still learning about the possibilities of the digital age, I find myself drawn to the truths of traditional arts.
I’ve always split my time between the two, growing up alongside personal computing and console gaming and also the works of renaissance paintings, etchings, and political cartoons. I felt that split for my studies, choosing to major in computer science and minor in studio art, and building a career in the nascent field of user experience design. I had my dream jobs of designing the digital tools artists use in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Though I learned a lot about being a creative professional (and love the problem-solving of design) I felt I was missing another window into truth I’ve only found in studio art.
I paint and draw to capture that truth. I learn about nature through that intense study. I learn about human perception as I adjust what I see into what I want others to see, to not be a mere copy or transcription but to shift a mood by texture or by color. From a distance many of my pieces look like photos, and it’s up close where its essence is revealed. Paintings have presence, and I know a piece is done once it truly feels alive.