Long-term love of art

While my professional career has been in UX, design, and computer science, my deep-rooted love for art has been a constant companion over the last 20+ years—and in 2023, I started pursuing a serious studio practice. I have a deep love of gestural lines, capturing form and light, and expressionist figurative work. At the heart of all the art I've ever created is simply the joy of putting marks and color down until I'm satisfied with the result.

Exploring difficult emotions

Thematically, I've used art throughout my life to express and explore parts of the human psyche that are uncomfortable, negative, or distressing. My artwork is often moody or intense, focusing on anxiety, grief, shame, sadness, neglect, or isolation. Some of my work also focuses on darker feelings we typically conceal, even from ourselves: contempt, aggression, jealousy, judgment, and the raw desire for power, control, and certainty.

Avoidance & mental illness

I see this as a way of challenging both myself and viewers to confront what's called experiential avoidance. Experiential avoidance is a psychological concept that plays a heavy role in various mental illnesses. It’s the tendency to avoid or suppress uncomfortable thoughts, emotions, memories, or physical sensations. While avoiding or suppressing these things offers us temporary relief, long-term avoidance can contribute to the development and exacerbation of mental illness. I know this firsthand: I previously struggled with OCD and anxiety disorders, and I only began to master them when I learned how to accept and embrace my own thoughts and feelings.

Expressionism & uncertainty

In my artistic expression, I use facial expressions, body language, and semantic elements to convey feelings, thoughts, and concepts. Abstracted facial features, nonrepresentational colors, and expressive lines and shapes serve as vehicles for capturing the essence of these experiences. Additionally, the deliberate act of leaving some of my work raw, in-progress, or “unfinished” adds another layer of exploration into our innate desire for certainty and resolution. This visual state of “in progress” fascinates me, as I find myself drawn to the rawness, energy, looseness, and possibilities present in works that stand just a few steps away from being deemed “finished.”

In summary, my artistic practice encompasses the joy of creation, the exploration of complex emotions, and the confrontation of experiential avoidance. Through my art, I hope to invite introspection into difficult experiences and celebrate the beauty found in uncertainty, both visually and metaphorically.