BIOGRAPHY
I am a working artist and bachelors student in the Pioneer Valley who designs large-scale charcoal and mixed media paintings. My work references a variety of landscapes from trees to water to rock formations. Sumi ink, charcoal, water-soluble pastels, oil sticks and water are some of the materials used to build up tangible and texturized surfaces that reflect the natural contours of our world. I highly value the processing of creating my work. I enjoy leaving traces of how my paintings develop by choosing not to erase marks, that way my process is documented and harmoniously incorporated into my final product.
In my larger scale paintings I have opted out of human forms to show the lack of interference between the environment and humans. It is important for me to be the only human manipulating the nature-based environment. As my series developed objects became more abstracted and texturized. The forms began to take on their own identity, and mark making took on a more amplified role. I appreciate bold, organic forms and I aspire to fill the entire canvas with gestural and intuitive marks that encompasses the viewer. I create abstracted pieces with little reference to animate objects and more focus on how the manipulation of water and material work together to create unique textures.
My interest in community art sprouted in High School when I helped organize and create two murals for Big Y Northampton and collaborated on the design of a downtown bench. I now continue to work in the community by incorporating recycled wood from local carpenters and materials discarded at Valley Recycling into my art projects. Reusing and repurposing material has always been a major factor in creating and directing my art.