ABOUT

Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, MI., exposure to culture and history fostered a lifelong love of the arts. My grandmother was an artist and my family has been large contributors to the Detroit Institute of Arts. I was introduced to the arts (visual and performing) at a young age, exposed to galleries, on and off Broadway musicals, Ballet, the Opera and Orchestra. Although I never picked up a paintbrush until August 2010, I explored a variety of artistic endeavors while growing up. I was active and participated in community theatre, won several local writing awards, and for most of my schooling, attended a private school, known for their performing and visual arts program. Last year, under the influence of a local Houston artist, I decided to attempt painting as a new hobby. A year later, it has become an obsession (I paint virtually everyday) and I show frequently in the Houston area. I am featured as the Nov '11 Highlight Mod Artist on Houston's Modern Epiphanies: http://modernepiphanies.com/?p=745. I paint as a therapeutic medium, for my massive ADHD, because it seems to be the one thing I can concentrate on for more than 10 minutes :) My artwork is diverse and unpredictable, using different materials, themes, textures and techniques. This is an experimentation period and has been a point of self-discovery in my artwork. I have about a dozen different styles to my art and it rightfully reflects my unfocused, eclectic and random persona. I am all over the place....and so is my art. My art is passionate, visceral, structural, immediate, raw, spontaneous, chaotic, colorful, urban and soulful, creating a unique visual language. In my creations, you will find abstract artworks, rich in patterns, geometric shapes and forms, organic design elements and symbols, bohemian undertones, vivid color and a high level of texture —all of which carry these paintings beyond a standard, strictly visual art experience. My paintings invite touch and reward with a multi-sensory experience. I create my paintings with joy and reverence, as a celebration of love and life. I am drawn to earthy themed tones, flavored with symbols from Eastern religion and methodology. I have a personal and emotional connection with the number 11 and you will see this number frequently in my work. I am a huge propionate of up cycling and using recycled materials in my art - be green! My work is influenced by abstract expressionists, particularly Cy Twombly, Mark Rothko, Willem De Kooning, as well as Neo-expressionists, Banksy, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Julian Schnabel and Pop artists, Andy Warhol, and James Rosenquist. All of my work is original, as I work from life, drawings, photographs, and a lot of imagination. The subjects of my study are the world around us, the world inside us, and the new realities we create in the process of relating to nature and to each other.

FAVORITE THING ABOUT RAW

Grassroots art movement taking over the world and giving us little people a voice

MAKES MY WORLD GO ROUND

The number 11