STORY
I'm a multidisciplinary artist and designer from Eugene, Oregon. I received my BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, with additional study at Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence, Italy.
In my practice, I am interested in the unconscious conditions of which art is created. Some of my most luminous and optimistic palettes were born from the most emotionally distressed periods of life. I became fascinated by this contradiction and began reflecting on the act of making itself and its ability to access the place inside us we are unable to consciously recognize. My process investigates the ways painting can reveal emotional states that exist beyond immediate experience and conscious language.
At the Art Institute of Chicago I researched many of these questions with fellow artists alongside the historical collections we studied. From the observational realism of renaissance paintings, the states of control and precision created were clear in the technique and brush strokes layered on the canvas. However the emotional lives of these artists at time of creation remain unknowable, their paintings often embody extraordinary control, precision, and restraint. Whether these qualities reflected their lived experience or emerged through the process of painting itself is a question that continues to inform my practice.
My own work raises a similar question. While other artists may take their pieces very seriously in the present moment of making, I tend to lean into the idea that the meaning of a piece may not be known for several years after completion. Rather than viewing them as illustrations of my emotional state, I think of painting as a process capable of producing psychological conditions that differ from the one in which I currently sat. I often pair my paintings with a description of what I have learned from the piece and what it may offer others.
STUDY
I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I studied painting and design. During my time at SAIC, a significant component of my education involved direct engagement with the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection, where I studied works spanning centuries of artistic practice and examined the relationship between technique, material, composition, and visual communication. This added exponentially to my own studio practice.
After years spent in this expansive museum, I found the time I spent in the renaissance exhibitions to outweigh all others. This strengthened my interest in historical painting methods, particularly the use of color, light, and layered surfaces within Old Master works. This led me to the pursuit of continuing my studies in Florence, Italy, at the Lorenzo de’ Medici Art Institute, where I focused on advanced oil painting techniques and traditional underpainting methods.
While studying in Florence, I engaged closely with works throughout the city’s museums, collections and above all the Uffizi Gallery, which holds more than sixty percent of all of Italy's most historically famous pieces. This experience expanded my understanding of the relationship between technical discipline and expressive works.
The combination of historical study and technical training continues to shape my approach to painting, allowing me to integrate traditional methods with an evolving investigation of color, emotion, and visual experience.
My painting process integrates traditional oil painting techniques with a more intuitive approach to color and composition. Many of my works begin with an underpainting of burnt umber and white, establishing the foundational values, structure, and light of the composition before color is introduced.
This initial stage reflects my study of realist and Old Master techniques, where careful observation and control create the framework of an image. Through layered applications of paint, I gradually build depth, atmosphere, and luminosity, allowing color to develop through the interaction of each layer.
As the painting progresses, the process begins to move beyond direct representation. While the initial stages are grounded in observation, the work gradually shifts toward a more intuitive approach, where color, gesture, and composition are guided by emotional response as much as visual reference.
This movement between structure and intuition is central to my practice. I look for the symbiotic relationship that exists between the extremes of observational realism and intuitive abstraction. Traditional techniques establish the structure of the painting, while the gradual departure from direct representation allows the work to evolve through intuition, revealing themes of emotional states that were not consciously intended at its beginning.