Claustrophobia, oil on canvas, 24"x30", 2010

I am not an anxious person, but I am intrigued by uncomfortable psychological states. In my oil paintings, I depict allegorical figures challenged by their mental and physical surroundings. These relationships, and the visual narratives they connote, are an opportunity for me to explore the human form in dramatic lighting, alternately revealing and concealing moments of complacency within chaos.
Just like the figures I depict, I am both additive and destructive in my process. I build up the figures rigorously until there is a sense of presence, and then hack away at the surface with sandpaper or my knife to reveal previous layers. My physical process of painting, as well as the nonlinear narratives I create, demonstrates the sense of comfort that we can find in the uncomfortable.