INSPIRATION & TECHNIQUE

I consider myself a visual storyteller.  I voice my stories by painting on canvases and by captured images using my camera.  My inspiration comes from the world around me as well as the world inside my head.  As a self-taught artist from a young age, I've experimented with a vast array of styles, techniques and materials to create original art.  My preference and expertise, however, is in the usage of mixed media to construct, shape and color my images.  My pieces often start with a carefully selected collage of newspaper scraps, magazine pages, vintage photographs and Xeroxed text.  Then, using acrylic paint and original macro photography, I manipulate the lines, the shapes and the colors into the final image that was once conceived in my imagination.

The Studio

This is where all the magic happens.  My art studio is were I truly belong and where I'm the happiest.  I often work on multiple canvases at a time, so having a large space to spread out is crucial to my productivity.  Here, you see numerous pieces in various stages of completion, from blank canvases to finished works of art.  It's not unusual to see stacks of paintings leaning against every wall, especially when I'm getting ready for a show.

The Process

A picture of what a typical late-night session at the art studio looks like.  Here, I've been laying down collage elements collected from various fashion and lifestyle magazines.  Sometimes you have to create a big mess in order to create beauty.  I work almost entirely at night when the mind is clearest and void of any distractions.  And of course, a cool mix of R&B, House and Alternative music jamming in the background always helps keeping the creative juices flowing.  It's so easy to lose track of time when you're in the zone - the perfect combination of tranquility, inspiration and physical ability to transfer a conceptual idea from the brain to the blank canvas.  I typically start working on my pieces after 9:00 P.M. until my eyes can no longer stay open which is usually 2 or 3 in the morning.  I consider time to be the most valuable commodity one can possess and I use every waking minute of it to work on my craft.