How did you get started as an artist?

I had known I wanted to be an artist since I was five, when I created my first "figurative" work: a portrait of my parents! Thanks to my mother's foresight, I started oil painting classes at a local art league when I was ten. The courses helped raise my art skills and build my confidence.
I've had some wonderful mentors throughout my journey. One of my earliest mentors was Pat, a Chicago artist and a friend of my mom. Pat often carried a set of watercolors, paper, brushes, and a small container with water in her oversized purse. If she saw I was bored, she handed me her art supplies and encouraged me to create!
I had the privilege of learning from amazing college professors, several of whom have displayed their work in art museums across the U.S. Northern Illinois University professor Dr. Walter Ball's teachings on color had a profound impact on my art, shaping me into the artist I am today.

What themes does your work involve?

My subject matter is mainly urban. I've explored downtown buildings with display windows, which merge the window content with the surrounding reflections.
Sometimes, I digitally add graffiti to buildings. I love the raw beauty of graffiti and have become a connoisseur of the art form!
I recently created a small series of paintings and digital art depicting interiors, in which I added graffiti or street art to the interiors.
The overall connecting theme of my work is bold, bright colors and flattened forms. I prefer a nod to a comic book style. You can see some of this style in the Chicago Imagists, some of whom I studied with during college.

What is your source of inspiration?

Urban settings inspire me. I love cities; the bigger, the better! I love the people, the movement, the architecture, and the sounds that make up life in an urban environment. Some people love the serenity of the country, but I lived near a major highway for years and slept like a baby.

Can you describe your creative process?

I don't use pencil or paper to create my concept work; I do everything digitally. Armed with Photoshop and original digital photos, I combine, manipulate, merge, add, and eliminate areas until the final image emerges. Once satisfied, I use the completed digital image as a visual reference for a painting. In some cases, it remains as digital art. The mediums I work with are acrylic, mixed-media, and digital art.