Artist FAQ’s:
Explain the two concepts of Energy and Exploration that root your art practice.
The concept of Energy underlies all of my work in some way and I use the term in a few different ways. I might use it to describe the energy of a moment (e.g., Meet Me for Coffee in the Trees, Couch Dancing, Night Flyer). I think a lot about how color and materials communicate certain energies (e.g., Creamsicle, Beach Hut #1, Goddess, Orchid Force). I also use the term when describing the experience of awe, for instance, when in nature (e.g., Wild Ground, Motor, We Are Stardust). Also, I think everyone can relate to the dynamic energy felt between two people or sometimes when in a group.
The concept of Energy is so fascinating to me because it’s measured and described very specifically in science. But energy experienced in these other ways can’t be fully understood, measured, or even comprehensively articulated (at least not by me).
Besides Energy, the other concept that grounds my art practice is Exploration. Growing up, I was surrounded by lots of creativity and nature. The innovation and big-thinking from nearby Silicon Valley was also ever-present. As teenagers, of course I wanted to see and experience everything and I had so much at my fingertips. I remember sitting on the edge of the ocean's high cliffs in San Francisco Bay, watching hang-gliders swirl in the winds at eye level. I remember feeling so overwhelmed at the beauty of it all. With friends, I would hike in the hills and camp in beautiful mountains, wander among tide pools and dance and sleep on the beach. We’d go into Chinatown, sneak into clubs, and go to the college parties in Berkeley. We'd ride motorcycles through the hills, go to reggae and renaissance festivals, go to car races, and amazing concerts. That wonderful feeling of being free and uninhibited to just explore and be creative was so foundational; it shaped me and underlies the spirit of my art practice today. As I continue to wander and explore in the world, I want to keep this type of energy close and hope that it's felt in the work.
Today, my art practice as a loop of wandering, exploring, photographing, painting, writing, and experimenting. Exploration is such an important part of fueling the work and wherever I am, I'm thinking about how to communicate the energy I find through the work.
When did you start painting?
In my late 20’s I bought some paints and was immediately hooked after I realized how challenging painting was (funny I thought it would be easy). A few years later I picked up photography which I use a lot in my practice today as well. In 2015 I founded Urban Theory Studios and started to exhibit. Then, In 2017 I was awarded a painting fellowship by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA). I learned that the painter Cy Twombly and photographer Sally Mann, both artists I admired, had also been awarded fellowships by the VMFA. The professionalism and support of the VMFA, combined with the opportunities to exhibit there have been instrumental in my motivation to keep moving forward.
What is your work about and what inspires you?
Through exploring, painting, photographing, and writing, I'm interested in the concept of energy, memories of place and time, wild dreams, connection, and possibility.
Whether I'm in the studio or wandering in new places, I draw from visual clues and textures around me, the dynamic environments of urban cities, music, nature, science, spirituality, and symbolism. Exploring through travel is a huge influence and I often use these experiences for the work.
Really, I'm just endlessly curious, love to learn, and visually create and arrange ...FINDING ENERGY...this is what drives me.
Some artist influences include Julie Mehretu, Cy Twombly, Beatriz Milhazes, Hilma af Klint, and Helen Frankenthaler.
First creative memory?
I’m lying on my stomach on cold linoleum in the family room, propped up on my elbows and rubbing crayons on paper to pick up the floor patterns underneath. Maybe I am 4?
I was definitely the stereotypical shy art kid, but always very independent. At nine, I told my parents I wanted to life in a converted school bus and travel selling jewelry when I grew up. At eleven I announced that I was a vegetarian (although it didn’t stick). In high school, I would cut up my clothes and I remember painting doodles all over my favorite pair of jeans. I took all of the art classes I could and have always been creative in many different ways.
Growing up, there was a lot of creativity around me at home. I learned sewing, cake decorating, knitting, crocheting, cooking, stained glass and many other types of arts and crafts. Our hallway had a big sliding double-door closet stuffed with all sorts of crafting things like ribbons, beads, fabric, yarn, lace, etc. It was so stuffed that when you slid open the door a mountain of stuff tumbled out. I would slide one door open just a little bit to pull out a few things like yarn or fabric to investigate. I would cut things up, mark on them, glue stuff; to me, that was the best. I do this today really. As as adult, I took some woodworking and sculpture classes as well. I remember chiseling away at a plaster sculpture at 3am on the garage floor to meet a deadline.
First memorable influence with fine art?
I had been a fan of Beatriz Milhazes’ work for many years before I saw some of her large works in an art gallery in San Francisco. Seeing these works that I had pored over in books for so many years was such a unique experience. I swear I felt my brain opening up, expanding, and I knew that something had changed about how I viewed the experience of art. There is more and more research about brain plasticity, or ability for our brains to adapt and rewire. Art plays such an important role in opening up new ways of thinking and connecting things together. I wrote an essay on the power of art a number of years ago for a solo exhibit; it still rings true today in how important I think art is for our personal well being and in connecting communities.
What do you love about painting and creating in general?
I come from both an art and science background. I earned an Associate of Arts, along with a Bachelor and Master of Science focused in research so I see things from an organized, data perspective but also love the freedom of abstraction. Tapping into the creative opens the door for dreaming, play, and possibility to enter into our thinking.
In the studio, I love that there’s always a component of mystery to this process. When the energy rises and a rhythm starts in the studio, I just try to follow the flow and get the thinking out of the way. It's always a struggle to get to this point though, but when it happens I fall in love with painting all over again.
I love to juxtapose and intersect color, movement, and form. Often I'll be moving things around and stacking things in the studio and something just lands visually. I take lots of pictures at these moments. Textures, colors, materials, abstracted and juxtaposed imagery - this is where I live in the studio.
With painting, I love all of it…the physicality of working large, the technical aspects of working with materials, and the intimacy I feel with the painting process. I'm always fascinated that there are hundreds of decisions made in each piece - method of paint application, consistency of paint, tools used, custom color mix...every decision point leads to a final result that can never be replicated. I often photograph and talk a lot about the detail in works that occur from the mix of intention, spontaneity, and intuition. Sometimes, there is truly magic at the intersection of energy, thought, gesture, and process.
Can you talk about your process, methods, and materials?
I tend to have 1000 browser tabs open at once in my brain so I have to work really hard to focus. Usually moving things around in the studio and organizing or just getting paint down in some way helps to get me started in a direction.
I build up surfaces by layering and reworking paint and materials over time. I use a lot of recycled and non-traditional materials, especially in smaller works. Art remnants, travel mementos, packaging and advertising materials, etc. are layered with various paints and inks and then sanded, scraped, poured, and dripped using brushes, hotel key cards, rollers, and trowels.
My unique visual language comprises a history of marks, saturated colors, typographic elements, organic drips, and lyrical gestures to form works that are raw, bold, and layered. I usually think in terms of background to foreground – in layers or planes back to front and what to keep and what to obscure in those layers. I’m testing ease, tension, balance, and rhythm in color, form, gesture, and materials; over and under, intersected and juxtaposed, soft and bold, raw and sophisticated, opaque and transparent, etc. Always testing, testing, testing.
I’m very particular about color and use it a lot to play with meanings, perceptions, and assumptions (e.g. Pink Goes to New York, Decoding Pink, Goddess, Orchid Force).
When I first started painting, I was doing these graffiti panels and then later got into really gestural, lyrical abstractions. Although the aesthetic of my work has changed a bit over time, you can still see remnants of the former typographic elements and gestures in recent works. Just in the past few years I’ve started to incorporate collage methods, but I definitely consider myself a painter.
Future?
It took me so many years to figure out my direction. Now, I feel that I'm just getting started in pulling my comprehensive vision together.
Some of the things that I think about for future:
Books, more writing, blending of art and photography somehow, and maybe more art installations because I love how they add to a more sensory experience. What I love about art is that to some degree, you just have to trust, keeping moving forward, and see where it all leads.
