Artist Statement

My art is my key to my home, my water reflection, my looking glass.

For me, art is a way to see the word through different eyes.  These eyes may agree with what I see, while others are startling and show what I don’t see.  It’s a way to see not only the world around me, but myself as an individual.  In a way, my art is an extension of myself.  My artwork is directly influenced by life situations, people, events, emotions, and simply everyday life in general.  In my work, I work through and express all the emotions I feel about a particular subject.  My desire is to make it relatable to any viewer no matter what their background, culture, language, or age.  My goal is to stir with in them emotions and feelings that create them to examine their own life, and possibly even act on what they learn about their self.

I not only focus on the subject of the work of art, but I also focus on the color, composition, lighting, and cohesiveness of the work.  When creating a work of art my attention to color directly affects the tone and feeling of the piece.  I carefully choose the details of how and what to include in my artwork, because what is in the frame must be deliberate and have a reason for being present.  Color affects the tone, but composition and lighting also can affect the tone as well as the aesthetic quality.  Composition and lighting can give the art work a direct sense.  It could give the feeling of balance, direction, or conflict depending on how it’s applied.  Along with attention to the details of each individual piece, I also focus on how the pieces work together as a whole.  In my work, there is a definite reason as to why these pieces work together.   I strive for consistency throughout the work as a whole, but each individual piece must bring something new and significant to the work as a whole.    

While I use a variety of materials and processes in my projects, I primarily use digital photography.  I love being able to both document life, and also manipulate the obvious to broadcast a hidden or subdued message.  Often, I use multiple layers in Adobe Photoshop to express the subject and/or story desired.  Although I do primarily use digital photography the subject matter of each body of work can determine the materials and the forms of the work takes.