I paint portraits to describe the people who create the cultural movements that
influence our perceptions and behavior. I am fascinated by how our similarities
and differences cause us to group, and often play with painting strangers as
friends and friends as strangers to explore common personalities. I draw
from both advertisements and fine art when painting. Advertisements are
key to giving me insight as to how we want to look, whereas fine art allows
me to think about cultures, both past and present.
I use multiple layers of paint to create my subjects. The first layer is the
portrait, which is the appearance of the person. I then add a layer of small
iconic shapes on the surface of the painting to reflect my interpretation of
the person. The iconic shapes can reflect the subject’s interests, where they
are going in the painting, or why I chose to paint them. In trying to separate
the way a person looks from how I see them I am describing the distance we
all overcome when interacting with one another, so that looking at the
painting is like meeting a person.
influence our perceptions and behavior. I am fascinated by how our similarities
and differences cause us to group, and often play with painting strangers as
friends and friends as strangers to explore common personalities. I draw
from both advertisements and fine art when painting. Advertisements are
key to giving me insight as to how we want to look, whereas fine art allows
me to think about cultures, both past and present.
I use multiple layers of paint to create my subjects. The first layer is the
portrait, which is the appearance of the person. I then add a layer of small
iconic shapes on the surface of the painting to reflect my interpretation of
the person. The iconic shapes can reflect the subject’s interests, where they
are going in the painting, or why I chose to paint them. In trying to separate
the way a person looks from how I see them I am describing the distance we
all overcome when interacting with one another, so that looking at the
painting is like meeting a person.
Artist Statement