My Art

ARTIST STATEMENT

My artwork is predominately of abstract female figures. The definition of female beauty in America can, at times, be biased and cruel. This American definition has cultivated women with low self esteem and warped perceptions of themselves. I hope to change that through my art. My creations show that female beauty is not in the clothes or skin or shape. It is what is within us that makes us beautiful. It is our culture, our heritage, and our uniqueness that defines individual beauty.

I am an introvert and, at times, unbelievably shy. Sometimes shyness can hide other wonderful attributes, like beauty and sensuality. It is a conflict that I live with daily. But, on my canvas, I create a world where shyness and sensuality live harmoniously. Creating these pieces have been an uplifting and freeing experience. I’ve found freedom and confidence in art and I am ready to share it with others.

Between 2000 and 2004, I worked exclusively in ink and pen. These drawings are now a collection entitled “Women in Black and White.” In 2004, I began to develop acrylic paintings from these drawings. The strokes and color lend to the emotional subject of the paintings. Yet, my love for drawing can be seen in the paintings through the bold black lines of the figures.

I am currently developing five bodies of work. Three are directly related with to my core subject of women.

Women in Black and White
This series of ink drawings began in 2000. An illness that I suffered with for two years took me away from art and other things. After surviving this illness, I began to create ink drawings. It was a simple conduit to creating again after being away from it for so long. These drawings began as simple line art drawings and developed into intricate layred drawings of women in abstract form, twisting and turning into more than physical beings. In later years, these drawings became the subject of my “Bashful Sensuality” series as well as other paintings.

Bashful Sensuality – Series III
This series of acrylic paintings began in 2008 and is the third installment of this series. They are abstract female portraits and nudes, painted on vertical canvases. Series 1 was created in 2004 and consisted of 60 x 40 full body female compositions. Series II included portraits of the same subject in canvases sizes 18 x 24.

Art Journal Project
The “Art Journal Project” began in 2008. It became an intimate place for me to develop art. It had always been a desire to bring text and words into my creations. The Art Journal Project has made this goal obtainable. It also has become a space where I am more open to trying different media, such as ink, pen, crayon, marker, acrylic paint and graphite to create. I believe this project will help expand the direction of my other works. The Art Journal Project includes Detroit 100 and BLAH.

365 Days of Detroit
I knew that moving back to Detroit would be an amazing journey for me and I wanted to record it. Daily, I write about my adventures and non-adventures since I moved from Houston back to Detroit in 2010. Along with the blogging, this project will include poster designs, postcards, drawings and the inevitable t-shirt designs. For more on this, please visit 365 Days of Detroit.

To view visual art portfolio, please visit My Art section of this web site.