My artwork consists of gestural dance-like movements based on intuitive thought, and an 
un-inhibited process. I feel that I am more involved with the relationship of imagery in 
space than the actual images themselves. This is not to say that the images I choose to 
reference are arbitrary, but instead I combine symbols and images relative to myself that 
may or may not be important to an individual viewing the work. Many of the images are 
combinations of tribal symbolism, religious beliefs, sex and gender, and pockets of energy 
whether they reference a nebula in space or an explosion in Iraq. My dissatisfaction with 
my Evangelical dysfunctional family and America’s current political choices has propelled 
me to deal with something other than my own personal trauma.

I feel the need to create this work because as I have evolved as a person, my work has as 
well. It has become more complex and meaningful to me and I need to express my internal 
energy. This energy to me is highly sexual. One could say I am obsessed with hidden sexual 
imagery in my work, but I find it to be humorous and difficult at the same time. I think 
about drama, trauma, depression, self-hatred, love, sex, happiness, intensity and orgasms 
when I paint. This is what makes it a sexual experience. My work radiates this energy 
because I continuously direct my energy toward the work- focused physically and mentally 
as I would an important individual in my life.

My recent sources of influence come from working in Julie Mehretu’s studio as an artist 
assistant. I began working there not directly interested in the process of her work or her 
imagery, but just being around the work and the process has dramatically changed the way I 
approach my work. She is a highly intelligent individual and creates clusters of energy 
through mark making and layers inspired by current events and thought provoking experiences. 
Indirectly, this has inspired me to use layering and transparencies in my work as well as 
an acceptance that my work can be a collaboration of imagery which doesn’t need to be fully 
narrated to an audience. Other artists I find inspiring are the later works of Arshile Gorky, 
Lee Krasner, and Helen Frankenthaler. Gorky used thin drippy paints and organic shapes. 
He also had a traumatic life and used painting as an outlet to create and deal with those 
difficult times. Lee Krasner was a painter that explored abstract forms that were both 
geometric and organic and was just one of those painters that never got the recognition she 
deserved. Frankenthaler used a similar consistency of paint that I am interested in by using 
oils like water, and was less concerned with imagery and more about the interaction of the 
material with the surface. What I find unappealing about her work is that she didn’t much 
care for the lasting effect that her work had and I try to incorporate techniques that will 
sustain for considerable amount of time. I am interested in non-toxic, environmentally 
responsible issues and use minimal amounts of oil paint. Instead, I have switched to acrylic 
and water on raw canvas attempting to enhance the properties of water and then sealing this 
into the canvas beneath layers of clear gesso, paint, and clear emulsions.

      
This work differs my previous work which focused on dramatic feelings of emotional turmoil, 
such as eating disorders, sex and gender issues, self-perception, and beauty. The transition 
period had to do with a change in scenery and a change of life. Ironically, my studies in 
Venice, Italy projected me into abstract work that has been compared to those of the 40’s 
and 50’s. I was not attempting to re-enact a moment in art history but instead came to a 
similar point of not knowing what to paint because I had processed many traumatic events in 
my life and was ready to deal with color and composition. The work was less special and was 
involved with surface and paint experimentation of thick and thin. Now, I consider myself 
to be exploring a combination of the figurative and abstract imagery with a specific focus 
on scale. I find a more atmospheric, landscape quality gives me a reference point to these 
constructed worlds have.

I am unsure where my work fits in to current contemporary art. I haven’t seen anything like 
it and I find it to be quite weird and disconcerting. I have seen aspects of my work in 
Chelsea and the MOMA but nothing that I can put my finger on. What that does is instead is 
keeping me interested in my work and on a constant level of exploration and experimentation.