Artist Statement

Living in a society where few of us feel free to be fully ourselves—without facing judgment from the politically correct or condemnation from conservative fundamentalists—it can be a constant struggle to live authentically without being labeled as something we are not.

For me, painting became a way to speak freely. It allows me to express truths that might provoke hostility in ordinary conversation. People expect artists to challenge them; they are often less comfortable when the person sitting across the table does the same. Controversial subjects may be unwelcome at dinner, while art that avoids controversy is easily dismissed as dull. A provocative artist can be considered bold; a provocative neighbor is often someone people would rather avoid.

Painting allows me to occupy both worlds, bringing together my love of visual art and my commitment to community activism.

My work tells stories, but not only the stories of injustice that people may expect from a woman of color. I have no interest in reducing myself to a martyr or romanticizing struggle. Instead, I examine myself as readily as I examine others. My work holds up a mirror to individuals, communities, institutions, and ideologies. No group is automatically innocent, and no one is exempt from scrutiny. Everyone is fair game.

Cinema is also a strong influence on how I construct an image. I am drawn to the way a single frame can imply an entire story—what happened before it, what might happen next, and what remains just outside the viewer's sight. Lighting, atmosphere, dramatic composition, gesture, scale, and point of view all play a role in my work. I often think of a painting less as a frozen image and more as a scene interrupted at a particular moment.

That cinematic sensibility also allows me to move between reality and fiction. Some images feel observational, others theatrical or surreal. I am interested in creating enough ambiguity that the viewer has to participate—to wonder who these people are, what has happened, and whether what they are witnessing is literal, symbolic, imagined, or some combination of all three.

I work traditionally in acrylic and oil as well as digitally. My digital practice includes an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, primarily using Adobe Fresco and Procreate. Many pieces begin as physical paintings that I bring into a digital environment, where I combine, manipulate, fragment, and layer multiple works to create something entirely new.

Moving between physical and digital processes gives me the freedom to dismantle and reconstruct my own imagery. A painting does not necessarily end when the paint dries. It can become raw material for another work, another scene, another story, and another way of seeing.