My artistic philosophy is one of slowing down, listening, and letting the moment guide the painting. The psychology of perception is at the forefront of my interests. My work explores the dreamlike space between body, emotion, and culture. I am deeply engaged in how the act of painting can reveal my own feelings about a subject. Ultimately, this process is what enables me to create paintings that transcend simple depictions of physical appearance. Much as I prepare, in the end I find in unexpected ways that the power of the finished painting is that it illuminates, for me, my own unconscious or subconscious feelings. This is emphasized by how I might exaggerate the drawing of a form, place an unexpected color, or recognize a touch that fluctuates between being strident and lyrical according to the speed and pressure of the paint application to the surface. A portrait can be infused with unguarded empathy, from an unexpected expression, an emotional emphasis, to the mark-making or the juxtaposition of colors.