These pastel portraits are rendered by hand; they are sourced from my personal archive of 35mm photographs, which spans fifteen years. They explore the vastness of the human condition, and the emotions and interactions of people engaged in specific moments. The dramatic chiaroscuro, fine grain, and peculiarities of film segue harmoniously into the mark making of my drawings—the chalky pastel marks mimic the grain of film. Utilizing film photography as the starting point for my work creates unpredictability of content and outcome. Happenstance,

It’s been said, “A husband is a man with his nerve extracted.” Odd, and in my case inaccurate. Not only for me, but for my characters as well. Girls and women—the “heroes” of my paintings—retain and contain style, opinion, sex, power, and nerve. The images represent ways in which complex stories can be suggested through the quality of light, physical gesture, color, accurate versus ambiguous description, and allusion to the history of the studio process.