Our identity is made up of hundreds of thousands of experiences, broken up into little pieces we call memories. When thinking back on our lives, we each have an image that represents a perception of our self. This 'story of the self' is made up of moments: joy, gratitude, sweet sorrow, bitterness, fear, passion, guilt, and haunting regret. The composition of the self is light and dark in varying proportions, fluidly blurring reality with our memories and stream of consciousness. The first iteration of my paintings are created as impressions of my visual or emotional encounter with a place, idea, or experience. When I step back, squint, and look at the bigger picture, what do I see? We each have defining moments of beauty and brutality in life.

The second iteration of each piece lies in its deconstruction. For me, the process of deconstruction is an act of surrendering the pride I have - in my work, and in my life: my passions, my desires, my privileges, my will, my self-importance, my individuality. It's deconstructing my perception that my perspective of my own experience is the only way to understand and make meaning of the world.

The reconstruction becomes a new painting; a transformation story, viewed through a lens of unmerited grace. Once my perception is cut up and rearranged, my pride lost - a new, highly ordered design emerges. With space given to each square, individual memories and experiences take on meaning in a new light. Looking back, there is beauty in the brokenness. Hardship begets healing. This transformation, displayed in the physical process and form of the work, represents a redemption story that continues to evolve.

As a participating viewer, I hope you find wholeness and beauty amid the brokeness of life. You have the power to redefine your story.

Commissions

commissions

Jan 1, 2020 | Denver, Colorado

A couple with a hurting marriage wanted a painting to symbolize the brokenness of their past, and their love story re-imagined. This piece is a tangible physical reminder of who they are and what they bring to the marriage as individuals, and how their lives combine to form a new story together. It is a reminder that there is beauty in the brokenness, when they choose to surrender to the story they are co-creating.