Statement

Art gives me freedom like few other subjects do. It allows me to go traditional routes or explore for roads less traveled without confining myself into a niche. I like to test the boundaries, combining traditional with the nontraditional, such as ink with coffee or acrylics with tissue paper. I also love confronting an audience with new perspectives and catching the passing eye with minute details. I want to show people that the world is not all they know it to be, like Ad Reinhardt’s “Abstract Painting” does, leaving people with more questions than answers, questioning their perception not only on what “true black” is but in other realms as well.

All if not most of my work reflects my own fascination with the natural world and nature. This includes human nature: I enjoy exploring relationships between people and their thoughts or emotions, using a mixture of the realistic and abstract to capture a moment truer than a camera, as seen in my figure drawings. I also hope to pass on my love of nature to those who view my works. Our species has lost so much of our connection with nature, increasingly so in this digital age and global pandemic. I hope to reignite biophilia through my art of the natural world, as well as in my landscape designs.

Particularly in my landscape designs, I seek to incorporate an artistic touch in dense, naturalistic plantings and really envelope visitors in greenery. I hope to create places that provide a naturalistic respite in our overly paved cities, as well as function to mitigate stormwater runoff, support local ecosystems through native plantings and the elimination of invasive species, and in general use sustainable solutions.

I am also interested in creating spaces that are comfortable for all who enter: from public parks and plazas, to personal gardens, to cities and beyond. I believe the landscape should inform and inspire how the place is shaped and formed, so that the final design fits and benefits that within and around it.

Overall, my education has impassioned me to discover all I can within the art and natural world, asking more questions and becoming emboldened to express myself like countless others have.