A sense of realism in art is accessed through artifice. It is not the physical actuality of an event through which its significance is illuminated, but through conscientious abstraction. As individuals, we are confronted by the restrictions of being a singular body under the social pressures of composure and consistency. My paintings evoke familiarity by focusing on the universal limitations of being human: on the vivid realities behind discomfort, weakness, and sexuality. To achieve the illusion of a tangible emotion, my paintings become honestly dishonest. What begins as a challenge to depict fictionalized feeling becomes an intimately sincere reflection of my personal experience. Vulnerability is inherent of intimacy; through my own genuine exposure coupled with an attention to fabrication, an empathetic connection is made and an emotional reality is expressed.

My paintings describe a dialogue between the figure and the environment that it inhabits, often blurring the distinctions between where one ends and the other begins. They invite the viewer into a shared space, with the option of participating as either a projection or voyeur. The ephemeral quality of the figures coupled with cinematic stylistics create the impression of both static thought and the passage of time. The firmer points of a painting, whether it be the solidness of an object or an engaged stare, anchor the less tethered emotional content. Recognizable illusions are necessary partners for the most elusive expressions of the human condition.