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. I use the term energy to describe a moment (e.g., Meet Me for Coffee in the Trees, Couch Dancing, Night Flyer). I'm always thinking about how color and materials can communicate certain energies in the work (e.g., Creamsicle, Beach Hut #1, Goddess, Orchid Force). I also describe the experience of awe, for instance when in nature, as energy too (e.g., Wild Ground, Motor, We Are Stardust). And everyone can relate to the dynamic energy felt sometimes between two people or in a group. This concept of Energy is so fascinating to me because it’s measured and described very specifically in science. But in other ways we all can agree it exists, but it can’t be fully understood, measured, or even comprehensively articulated (at least not by me).
Besides Energy, the other important concept that grounds my art practice is Exploration. Growing up, I was surrounded by lots of creativity, beautiful ocean and nature, art, and music. The innovation and big-thinking from nearby Silicon Valley was also ever-present. As teenagers, of course, we wanted to see and experience everything and we had so much at our fingertips. I remember sitting on the edge of the high cliffs in San Francisco, watching hang-gliders swirl at eye level in the cove and feeling so overwhelmed with awe. We could hike in the hills and camp in beautiful mountains, wander among tide pools and sleep on the beach. We’d go into Chinatown, sneak into clubs, or go to college parties in Berkeley. We would ride motorcycles through the hills, go to reggae and renaissance festivals, to car races, and amazing concerts. That feeling of being free and uninhibited to just explore and be creative was so foundational; it shaped me and the spirit that underlies my art practice. As I continue to wander and explore in the world, I 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. My focus in the work is much deeper than just the visual. Exploration is such an important part of fueling the work. Wherever I am, I’m paying attention and thinking a lot 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 it was (funny I thought it would be easy). A few years later I taught myself 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). Afterwards, I learned that the painter Cy Twombly and photographer Sally Mann, both artists I admired, had also been awarded fellowships by the VMFA. The support of the VMFA and 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 ask questions and weave narratives around energy, memories of place and time, wild dreams, and connection and possibility.
Whether working in the studio or wandering in new places, I draw from visual clues and textures, the dynamic environments of urban cities, music, nature, science, spirituality, and symbolism. Travel experiences are a huge influence and I often use the energy from these memories for the work.
I'm endlessly curious, love to learn, and visually create and arrange ...that 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 my 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 the jewelry. At eleven I became 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 a lot of different ways.
There was also 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 was obsessed with this closet and 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. As as adult, I took some woodworking and sculpture classes as well. I remember chiseling away at a plaster sculpture at 3 in the morning on my garage floor in order 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 could feel my brain opening up, expanding, and I knew that something had changed. There is more and more research about the brain plasticity, or ability for our brains to adapt and rewire. I do believe art plays such an important role in opening up new ways of thinking and connecting things. I wrote an essay on the power of art a number of years ago for a solo exhibit; it still rings true 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. My formal education is an Associate of Arts, along iwth 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. Art and creativity allows us to weave the dreaming, play, and possibility into our thinking.
In the studio, I love that there’s always a component of mystery to this process and when an energy and rhythm starts. I try to just let things occur at that point and enjoy the flow when the thinking steps out of the way.
I love the juxtaposition and intersection of color and form – you see this especially in my smaller collages. Often I'll be moving things around, stacked a few things and realize that I really like the way it lands visually. Textures, colors, materials, abstracted and justaposed 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. Also, it's always fascinating that there are hundreds of decisions to be made in each piece - method of paint application, consistency of paint, 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 edges of works or areas of detail that occur from the mix of intention, spontaneity, and intuition. There is 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 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, paper towels, 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. 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. 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, 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, and maybe more art installations because I love how they can add to a more sensory experience. What I love about art is that to some degree, you just have to work hard, trust, and see what happens.
