Everyday, everywhere people hide their feelings. The woman in front of you at Safeway. The man who takes your ticket at the parking lot. Their smiles hide their stories, just as all of our smiles hide our stories. My art is a means of opening up those stories.

Each of my paintings depicts one emotion. My goal is for that emotion to grasp the viewer. 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. Recently my artwork has become more abstract, my figures becoming more organic and blending with the negative space.

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.

I always incorporate red into my paintings because it’s so rich and vibrant. But I also use my color palette to convey emotion. For instance, to me yellow can represent depression, confusion, a complicated situation. I use oil pastels, gouache, watercolor, soft pastels, neocolors, acrylics, oil bars, oil paints, charcoal, ink, and crayons--basically everything I can draw with and whatever will make the emotion more clear and accessible. Each emotion, each color, each surface is treated differently from the start of my process to the end.

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