My vision as an artist is to engage the viewer in an internal journey, connecting an exploration of individual character with the context of community and the world in which we live. By investigating personal, internal themes (such as the distances between us, the need for human connection, reflection, watching, waiting, forgiving, grieving, pausing to look and listen), as well as internal functions such as dreams and memory, my drawings ask how who we are connects us with the world in which we live. In other words, how do we define ourselves as individuals within our social context?
Drawing is everything to me. I work with a narrative; my work tells a story. I like stories that have intimate yet broader community implications. I often think of my work in terms of parables. I am inspired by literature, poetry mostly, as well as stories that I grew up with and those revealed to me through life in Washington, DC and my former work as a counselor in a community mental health clinic.
By exploring social justice and contemporary humanist themes, I seek to engage the viewer’s imagination and inspire questions that may lead to action. My work during the past few years has examined character and the internal self, an emphasis concentrated by the pandemic’s effects of an inward pull and inspired by certain changes, growth, and loss in my personal life. This internality has included a consideration of the effects of memory and legacy, self-exploration and realization, and how we carry our past with us always. In other words, how does the past fit into the narrative of our life and give it meaning, purpose, and a lens through which to view our present social context?
I usually work with medium- to large-size paper, vellum, and cardboard, often in multiple panels like the pages of a book, using pencil, color pencil, and chalk because they evoke writing and narration. Each panel stands on its own; together, a larger narrative emerges.
The result, I hope, is thoughtful, intriguing, accessible, and human … and a bridge between self-exploration and how we may translate self-understanding into action in our present world.
I have drawn all my life. I currently work full-time in my studio at the 52 “O” Street Studios.
4/2023
Visit My Portfolio
Please visit my online portfolio to take a look at some of my artwork. Some samples are below …
