I am interested in developing ways to understand the underlying aspects of emotions and traits that we, as a collective, hide from ourselves and others. These untouched, unseen, and unspoken aspects of life are part of the shared experience of what it means to be human. However, because they are difficult to address or define they often go dismissed. As a painter I am interested in exploring more than the mere likeness of a model. I want to capture parts of the inner mechanisms that make us human.  I utilize unique metaphorical compositional perspectives that attempt to reveal what is often concealed. In the end my paintings are for me because I want to understand. There is something mysterious, yet ever present in the way that paint as both a process and as a medium can serve as a catalyst for deeper understanding. Be it the time spent developing a more intimate understanding of my subject or the process of working through subtle differences in textures, colors, layers, and glazes that reveal the complexities imbued by each human experience – painting helps me discover more about what it means to be me.