My inspiration is the surrounding world.  Each piece, whether directly of indirectly, speaks about my daily activity.  My art is as much for me as for the viewer.   

For a period of time, I thought my works were merely about beauty, and I painted traditional objects of beauty such as roses.  However, I soon realized my aims and interests were rooted in something more.  In fact, it was not the notion of beauty that interested me nor was it the traditional or conventional connotations.  Rather, it is the unexpected moments of interest or surprise that I seek to depict.  

My paintings contain objects or places that are a part of regular, daily interactions and activity but often go unnoticed.  I depict these elements, emphasizing their overlooked beauty.  I intend to not merely illustrate objects in a still life or urban landscapes, but rather to extract their inherent unique and interesting moments, portraying them as important and of worth.  Every morning for almost an entire year, I made my coffee at the same counter with the same milk canisters before noticing how striking the variety of textures and surfaces were.  Similarly, I passed my pantry daily, ignoring the cluttered shelves of mundane objects.  Then one day it had a bouquet of roses resting on it, and after stopping to look at them, I began exploring the complexities of the still life formed out of these ordinary objects. 

Recently my awareness of the many reflective surfaces around me has heightened.  My newest body of work deals specifically with the reflective surfaces of buildings in Clayton, Missouri, a nearby suburb to my current residence in St. Louis.  These reflections speak about their surrounding world.  By painting reflective surfaces, I represent and confuse layers of space.  In my depictions of these reflective buildings, I strive to engage the viewer.  My aim is for the viewer to enter and get lost in the natural distortions in our reality. 

Though I greatly enjoy this subject matter and find myself constantly drawn to such buildings and surfaces, the photorealistic style and studio process can be rigid and laborious.  Therefore, I find it helpful to have multiple works going simultaneously, one of which is more expressive in style. 

While my works are mainly [oil] paint on canvas, I enjoy experimenting with various techniques and methods of application, and occasionally employ non-traditional materials such as mud, mildew, and tar to support my conceptual end.

 As I spend time with each piece, the relationship that I develop with it constantly challenges me.  Through the process of working through these challenges, my subject matter becomes more intimate.  My paintings are meant to be viewed on the walls of living and working spaces.  They are objects that you live and interact with daily, just as the subjects that they represent.