Artist Statement

My work explores the past and present through portraits that started as photographs, made from watercolor paint, drawing and paper materials, and occasional fabric. Each piece depicts a specific place in time, and my goal is to create a feeling of remembrance and connection to those people and moments.

Growing up, my dad spent countless hours on our family’s genealogy research, adding more information and teaching me the importance of knowing where you came from. Many of my portraits started from one of hundreds of ancestor photos dating from the mid 1800s to the 2000s. The photographs I choose usually have an interesting pose, outfit, or feeling that I want to explore on paper. Over the years I’ve also started collecting photos of long gone strangers from flea markets and antique stores with interesting faces and stories that speak to me.

Each frame is foamboard I measure and cut to house the portrait, with a design pattern typical of the photograph’s era or something associated with the subject. These patterns are drawn first in pencil, then pen, filled in with several layers of watercolor paint on the front, back, and sides, and finally adhered to the foamboard. Each portrait on watercolor paper is done in the same manner, and drawn in a way that attempts to bring movement, pseudo-realism, and a bit of breath back to every person.

If people connect to the strangers looking back at them in my portraits, then I feel like I’m helping create a bridge to the past. Everyone has a family tree, and I hope to give people pause to think about and explore their own rooted lineage.