Everyday, everywhere people hide their innermost feelings. The woman in front of you at Safeway has a somewhat troubled look on her face; the man who takes your ticket at the parking lot smiles in a purely perfunctory manner. Their expressions, whether smiles, grimaces, or blank faces, offer but a mere glimpse into the depths of their feelings and experiences. We all have our own unique stories beneath our external veneers; my art is a means of incisively and creatively revealing those stories.

Each of my paintings captures one emotion. My goal is for that emotion to grasp the viewer. People relate to my paintings because they expose the under-current of hidden emotions that flows through and shapes everyday interactions and events. I want viewers to be intrigued and enlightened by what they see in my art. I want them to look once and then, having been touched by something real, choose to look again. For example, my painting seeks to illuminate the feelings of fear and anxiety that many of us may feel while experiencing but do not always reveal. My hope is that viewers will identify with and contemplate that feeling. Perhaps they will have experienced it themselves but have never shown it, or perhaps my painting will lead them to recognize that someone they are close to may share that feeling discreetly.

I begin by writing in my sketchbook words expressing the feeling I am trying to reveal. Then I sketch out scenarios and compositions, drawing loosely and spontaneously. The lines I draw may resemble simplistic items such as string, veins, yarn, or even a child's scribble, but they quickly become complex textural patterns. My red lines lead me into a drawing and define each individual. Each line is unpredictable, just as emotions are unpredictable. The lines give the viewer a sense of vibration, a change of perspective.

I often integrate hands into my paintings because they can create a rich sense of atmosphere. Whether they are above the figure's head, reaching for something, or simply resting on a table, hands help me to portray emotion much more powerfully.

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