For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be an artist and painter. I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan during a historical period of unrest and social change. I was influenced by the music of Motown, early local punk rock and an era of renewed social awareness. With the encouragement of my insightful grandfather, art and music merged with a desire to travel and see the world (thanks, Grandpa!)

I studied graphic design, fine art, art history, and illustration. I graduated with a BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After college, I was hired as an illustrator/designer by Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Missouri, where I worked for almost 15 years. Restless and needing a change, I left Hallmark to further explore my desire to paint.

My approach to painting is spontaneous and intuitive. I see many of my paintings as landscapes. I’m influenced by worn and weathered elements in the environment that reveal unusual colors, textures, and patterns. After applying multiple layers of paint, textures are created by randomly scraping, erasing, and making marks to reveal both color and depth. I focus on the contrast of dark to light, rough to smooth, and transparent to opaque. With accidental and intentional altering, the painting begins showing itself to me. This process can be exciting and rewarding because each experience results in an unique and sometimes unexpected painting.