I spend a lot of time talking to people about their pains or pleasures, losses or victories, and I am always amazed at the resilience and capacity of the human spirit for survival. I work at channeling the results of what happens when individuals apply themselves.
What I'm looking to create are iconic images reflecting the diversity of Black people’s religious views, fantasies, and life experiences. Due to the deficit in positive images and the relatively parochial view of the Black Community in the media, I juxtapose the less broadcast aspects of the black experience with the mythologies describing our existence. A constant theme in my work will be the bizarre relationship that people have with fiction and art imitating life imitating art.
Most of my work is done on masonite board primed with gesso. I sometimes sketch out the image with charcoal and slowly build up the image in layers with the paint
A great deal of the work I produce is done digitally. I use Gimp, Inkscape, and Artweaver to produce most of these works with a digital art tablet.
I primarily paint with acrylics but also, from time to time, go back to working with pastels. I prefer acrylics because of the permanence and durability of the medium but still love pastel because of the luminescence and the “open” nature of the pigment.
Essentially, my work is a release of all kinds of feelings and thoughts that I ordinarily don’t get to share in most social circumstances. It’s an opportunity communicate with people in an abstract way. Different people interpret the same circumstances in unique ways and with art a painting can have one meaning and level of significance for me but an entirely different affect on someone else. The painting becomes a method of encouraging dialogue around the possibilities of the image and even though I might be the artist, I am open to other interpretations of my work.

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