about

A statement

Theater, literature, cinema, poetry, pantomime, graphic novels — so many sources to pull inspiration from. The Gothic attracts like a moth to a flame, the extreme emotions, dread, trauma and a haunting past speaks to something most prefer to avoid but also can’t help but indulge in. The proof is in the pure resilience of works like Dracula or Frankenstein; reimagined time and time again in mediums across the spectrum but holding mostly true to the sensibilities they were founded on. My work reimagines in a similar way.

See my use of the commedia de la art character Pierrot, a downtrodden character, that like Dracula or Frankenstein has stood the test of time. Originating in theater he has spread through nearly all types of art: music, poems, films and paintings alike. Typically, he relates to the ideas of unrequited love, and longing. I use the character in a way that embodies a dark romantic sensibility and invites the viewer to empathize with the pathos of the character and see a piece of their longing in him.

 I draw from surrealist modes of creation, one that taps into the subconscious, dreams, and the automatic. Stifling at too rigid of a system, I’d much rather put pen to paper and let my instincts guide me. My more recent work endeavors though to break from those instincts to improve the technical proficiency that I can display through more rigid planning and use of reference.

A more proficient set of skills is broadening the range of emotions that I can communicate effectively in my work: dread, the forlorn, forgotten, and invisible. I endeavor to pull back a curtain and show something about human emotion, nature and psychology. For me it is important to find something true in myself to express through characters and have others see that truth in themselves as well.