Painting in My Studio
My Painting Process:
Mother Nature is wooing me, revealing her deepest, purest truths through the simplest means. Rustling bamboo, wind blowing past my ears, the Pacific crashing on its shore together whisper her secrets of profound connectedness and beauty. These moments of meeting are magic: having inhaled them deeply, I reach the top of my breath.
In this energetic state of fullness, a painting forms in my heart, travels upwards to my mind, readies itself to enter physical form. Tracing my fingers along paper, I map out lights and darks. Then I exhale. Brushing water onto the paper, drawing ink into the wet and onto the dry, stroking and splashing color, I offer a sea of meaningful response in abstract gestures. In the spirit of zen sumi-e, I paint spontaneously and quickly: the painting is finished in half an hour.
My Story:
I was born in the quaint country town of Opelika, Alabama, in 1986, and grew up two hours northwest in Birmingham, Alabama. I returned to the Opelika area for my education at Auburn University, where I earned my BA in Art in 2007 with Magna Cum Laude honors. Over the past few years, my paintings have drawn collectors from all over the US and overseas, including William Paul Young, author of New York Time’s bestseller, The Shack, and the Fuller Guest House in Pasadena, California. I’ve shown my work in several exhibitions in Alabama and sunny California, where I now live with my partner Michael and our fish, snails, and bamboo, on the breezy coast of Los Angeles.
Download a PDF of my résumé here.