statement
My practice is rooted in attentive observation of the natural world—discovering moments where something beyond our ordinary perception seems to emerge. The process begins with a photo, memory, or dream that connects me to a feeling of love and longing for this bond with nature; shifting my view from simply looking to truly seeing. As Robin Wall Kimmerer writes in Gathering Moss: “Intimacy gives us a different way of seeing when visual acuity is not enough.”
Due to my academic figurative background, self-portraiture emerged as the most genuine way to communicate my relationship to the Earth. Over the past couple of years, however, I’ve found myself less interested in depicting people, which mirrors my disappointment with how many of us treat the planet. In my most recent work, the forest, meadow, and sunlight have become protagonists, while the human takes on a supportive role.
Using familiar scenes and emotive colors, my paintings immerse the viewer into spaces that feel both accessible and intangible. I attempt to capture the magical quality of moments when one is in communion with nature—magic often tinged with melancholy for its ephemerality.