When I was eight years old, I walked alone into the Arizona desert. I returned with the realization that things are not always as they seem. That experience has shaped the way I approach both life and painting. I’ve found that conventional wisdom is useful, but not sufficient to understand the world.
I came to realize that each of us experiences the world through the circumstances of our birth: The cultures we inherit, the stories we tell ourselves, and what we assume to be true. By presenting familiar subjects in ways we do not ordinarily think about them, I hope to create a brief moment of vision beyond the bubble.
Paintings often begin with something that catches my attention; a moment, a thought, or something unexpected or incongruent. Rather than accepting the most obvious interpretation, I follow those moments wherever they lead. The result is not fantasy or escape from reality, but an exploration of alternative ways of depicting familiar people, places, and experiences. They are not expressions of my thoughts and feelings, but how I discover them. I am often surprised by the outcome.
I hope my paintings invite viewers to consider possibilities beyond the obvious, beyond the bubble. They reflect my belief that conventional wisdom is valuable, but that there is almost always more to discover if we are willing to look beyond first impressions.