I paint to create reflections of our world that a simple mirror or camera could never provide. Today, we are presented with endless facts but very little truth. We are buried under avalanches of information that are available to us within nanoseconds, yet we find ourselves farther and farther away from whom we really are. I paint in attempt to excavate that terrain that goes neglected by our high-tech, low reward society. Through my own personal brand of portraiture, I strive to peel away the exterior, to hold a kind of honest mirror up to the viewer; one that offers a look inside the subject as well as the self. I want my viewers to see a piece of themselves in my portraits; not the self they present to the outside world, but the self that they have buried, neglected, or hidden from view due to the pressure and pace of their modern life.  What my portraits reveal may not be pretty. What lies beneath the surface is sometimes foolish, awkward, illogical, or ugly. Strength often conceals weakness. Arrogance often masks insecurity. It is my goal to constantly dig deeper, to deconstruct the exterior, and find new faces that reflect that elusive, temperamental, often contradictory, truth-telling child within us all.

My process is built upon trust. This begins with my choice of material. I choose oils because they command respect and require my trust. Oil will simultaneously obey and defy you.  Oil will reward your trust with a richness of color and texture that is second to none, but only if you respect its properties and play by its rules. When I work with oil and walk the fine line between control and being controlled, I am constantly reminded that the process of painting is bigger than me. This constant tension between obedience and defiance makes oil the perfect medium for the elusive, often contradictory truth I am trying to reveal. Furthermore, the process of adding layers upon layers of flesh-like oil is equal but opposite to the viewer’s process, as they  “peel” layer after layer to find the truth of the piece.

 My current portraiture is an exploration of the contradictory nature of truth. While truth can be simple, it often exists simultaneously with an opposing actuality, which might at first glance seem impossible or illogical. A supermodel can be beautiful yet ugly. A rhinoceros is powerful yet endangered. A child can be adorable yet mischievous. Grown adults dress their children up as animals and dress their dogs like people. A mask can hide one truth while inadvertently revealing another. The possibilities of this theme are endless.  My work to date is just starting to scratch this surface. I aim to explore countless new faces, bodies and locations to reflect new angles of this elusive nature of truth.  I use variations in color, size, depth, facial expression, and body language to put an abundance of individual faces on something universal.

 Finally, I want my portraits to reveal the ultimate contradiction; that once truth is finally uncovered, it offers few answers but infinite new questions.