Raised in the urban sprawl of Indianapolis, my early relationship with nature was shaped not by unblemished wilderness or the scenic vistas of 19th century paintings, but rather by small scraps of bottle-littered forests and algae-covered drainage ponds scattered across endless suburbs. From a young age I had an intuitive sense that everything is fleeting and tends towards decay or transformation.

My current body of work primarily explores memory, change, and the subjective experience of time. In a chaotic bustling culture that is evolving faster than perhaps ever before in history, it often seems that any feeling, any moment of experience, no matter how personally profound, is lost to the past almost before it is even registered. My sense of personal history, identity, and self is an elusive collection of ever-shifting partially formed half-memories and intuitions that seem to lack any solid consistent form or direct connection with the world outside. From this ambiguity, uncertainty, and inherent sense of isolation, I attempt to hold on to small moments of beauty. By prioritizing lighting/atmosphere over clearly-defined form, and exploring rhythms in compositional arrangement, mark-making, and color harmonies, my work evokes in the viewer a feeling that they are participating in a memory or dream.  

Elements of nature such as trees, wetlands and forests play an important role in my paintings as well. I’ve always felt strongly connected to nature as something that is ancient and steadfast. Thus I am fascinated by the interplay between this timeless quality and the constant transformational upheaval that is modern human life. 

* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 16^th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.