statement

Drawing has been the basis for my most recent body of work.  The immediacy of drawing materials allows me to achieve a close connection between thought and mark, as working from imagination is central to my process.  I begin my drawings with a specific subject in mind or as abstract mark making on the paper‚s surface over which I superimpose representational subject matter, everyday people and settings.  In both approaches an exchange with the materials that I use is essential as I modify each drawing in response to unexpected developments and to the particular needs of an image: medium builds the content rather than content dictating medium.

For me, drawing is an exercise in visual memory.  While drawing from imagination I recombine and exaggerate aspects of remembered subjects and avoid external references until my ability to visualize falls short, at which point I resort to observational sketches and photographs to clarify forms.  My drawings are large, at the viewers‚ scale and larger, which I pin to the gallery wall, unmitigated by a frame, to engage the audience‚s immediate space; consequently, making the process through which each drawing has evolved clearly visible and the points of view they present directly palpable.

The subjects I draw are human figures in contemporary urban environments, based on my experiences and observations living primarily in the United States‚ Midwest and, more recently, southern Japan, which I amplify through mark making, intensified value patterns, dynamic compositions, and unexpected points of view: my intent is to emphasize the value and interest of daily visual experiences, as well as their value as a topic for exploration in drawing.  The subjects I return to most frequently are those that resonate most strongly in my memory, due to my response to the space or atmosphere of environments I encounter, and through my work I attempt to create the same resonance in viewers.   Additionally, in some images, I juxtapose aspects specific to locations in Japan and the U.S. to highlight similarities and differences I notice while living between the two countries each year.

Stylistically, comic book art has influenced how I draw figures and spaces.  It has also influenced my interest in shifting vantage points between each image and dividing compositions into multiple sections, employed to suggest the passage of time.  My other influences include Edgar Degas, Edward Hopper and Robert Birmelin, as well as comic book artists Lienel Yu and Sam Kieth.

bio

born: 1980, Kansas City, Missouri

education

California State University, Long Beach, 2008
Bradley University, BFA, 2003

selected awards/honors

Grand Prize, Nobeoka City Art Exhibition, Nobeoka City, Miyazaki, Japan, 2012
Best of Show, Majestic Galleries National Exhibition, Nelsonville, OH 2012
2nd Place Prize, Miyazaki Small Works Exhibition, Miyazaki City, Miyazaki, Japan, 2012
Merit Award, 19th Biennial, Drawing/Watercolor: Illinois, Tarble Arts Center, Charleston, IL, 2012

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Watching U.S. and Japan, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, Solo Exhibition, 2013
Watching U.S. and Japan, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA, Solo Exhibition, 2012
Watching U.s. and Japan, Earlville Opera House, Earlville, NY, Solo Exhibition, 2012
Recent Drawings, College of the Sequioias, Visalia, CA, Solo Exhibition, 2012

selected group shows

34th Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition, Bradley University, Peoria, IL, 2013
Drawing Out of Bounds, Wheaton College, Norton, MA, 2013
Graphic Content, Jacoby Arts Center, Alton, IL, 2013
KY.7 Biennial, Loudon House, Lexington Art League, Lexington, KY, 2012