My interest in the arts started at a very young age. My mother is an interdisciplinary artist who had my siblings and I experimenting with all kinds of mediums (quilting, writing, drawing, painting, music) as children. I was especially interested in drawing and painting, so my mother enrolled me in classes at the Currier Museum in New Hampshire. I received my BA in Art from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL, in 2012, and my MFA in Visual Arts from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, in 2017.
I am inspired by people, music, nature, and of course, art. To get excited before painting in the mornings, I often click through artists’ studio shots on Instagram or flip through an art book. I also listen to some good music by Frank Ocean, Modest Mouse, Vampire Weekend, Devendra Banhart, Lana Del Rey or Fleet Foxes. I also might listen to an artist’s interview podcast (I love The Conversation: Art Podcast, The Savvy Painter, Artist Decoded), or watch a documentary.
I primarily work from my own photography, which means my paintings generally represent personal experiences and people I know directly. I usually start a painting with a pretty clear idea of what I want it to look like, but I rarely maintain the same vision throughout the work. I always incorporate some painting techniques that are impossible to control fully, like splatters and scraping and sanding, so that the texture and colors can surprise me. Those elements of surprise and experimentation are my favorite parts of the painting process.