Artist's Statement

When I make a painting, I don’t want to paint a realistic moment in time. I want to create a scene that exists outside time or space in a dream world full of bizarre juxtapositions, fantastic elements, and mystery. I want my paintings to be beautiful but also disconcerting—perhaps even disturbing at times. My paintings are always autobiographical and spring from things that are on my mind—whether they are problems in the world at large or issues specific to my own experiences. Growing up I moved frequently between cities, states, and countries. Places divided by distance felt close together and related in my mind. This translates in my most recent work as I rearrange geography, time, history, memories, elements and people into magical realist landscapes.