I grew up in the Midwest and earned a BFA in Painting from Missouri State University, and an MFA in Painting from Indiana University. I have lived and taught in different parts of the country over the past 14 years, including Juneau, Alaska, Huntsville, Alabama and Detroit, Michigan. I currently live and teach in western Minnesota. My artistic practice is informed by my interest in fiction, travel/relocation, and my love of the outdoors.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

I am an observational painter interested in narrative and visual metaphor. I find figure painting to be a natural fit for storytelling. The extreme can feel so real and unreal at the same time. I love the chaos and adventure of human interaction augmented by the process of growing and trying to make it through life. I place the people in my work at odds with each other or their environments and it comes out a mixture of complicated feelings. I like balancing the fun of chaos with the dual joy and torture of intimacy; solitude as a sanctuary and penance. The feeling of longing or the drive of curiosity is like the painting process itself.