Artist's Statement...

I began painting in 2006, after having spent over fifteen years as a professional jewelry artist. Painting had been my first art form as a student and young adult. Having recently rediscovered the medium on a professional level, it is my endeavor to utilize the gift of painting to inspire social, cultural, and environmental awareness.

2006 was a year to rediscover technique and define my visual conversation. In 2007, I began exhibiting and marketing work. My current body of work consists of 1) abstract-landscape compositions, influenced largely by my educational work in the Asian Studies Program at Symphony Space, 2) figurative paintings, inspired by African art as well as the work of Amedeo Modigliani – an artist whose articulation I have long admired and, most notably 3) oil portraiture. My recent and upcoming portraits commemorate the lives of several artists, activists, and civilians who made, or were in the process of making, monumental strides for humanity in their abbreviated lifetimes. It is my hope that the study – entitled Projects Under Construction -  will continue to expand and touch lives in significant ways.