“Iowa Boy”

“Iowa Boy” (2018)

Too often in life, we only celebrate a person once they've died. My father is alive and doing well, but he is battling prostate cancer. He has lived through being the black sheep, fighting in a war, the loss of a sister at a young age, and a hard father. None of that has tainted his love, his temperament, or his generosity. His battle with cancer is not with the disease, but with the stigma. Once people know you have it, they only see the disease. Death follows us from birth, but it does not define the life we've lived and the people we've touched. My work honors the portrait of the man I call Dad, the vulnerability of announcing you're sick, the person behind the disease, and the realization that pity and sorrow are for the dead....not the living.

“Esperanza”

“Esperanza” oil on newsprint mounted to wood (2019)

How does one depict the gravity of Alzeheimers in a painting? When this project started, I thought about only telling the story of Esperanza in a short film. I then thought maybe I was wasting a chance to do a portrait unlike any other I have done before. I am not one for gimmicks for the sake of gimmicks, but a deconstructed portrait reorganized into a 3-dimensional sculpture felt right for this. When you look straight on, you see a traditional a portrait, a structure you recognize. But deviate your sight in the slightest and the image begins to skew. Even when you try and correct it with your eyes, it will still feel uncanny, still not right. All the parts are there, but they are different, tricking your eyes and your mind. Each block representing a memory, an image, a bit of that person that is either fading back or distorting away from your vision of them. As someone who had a grandmother suffering from dementia myself, this story and this portrait were very powerful for me.

“Mask”

What gives someone their identity? The trunk of of elephant is a key component to it be recognizable as an elephant. But it isn't the whole picture. Twins may have the same face but they are distinctly different inside. I am fascinated by the skin we wear and how it is a representation of our identity but says nothing about who we really are. Seeing the face splayed out flat gives us a different perspective on what face is.......a fleshy map of features that when disembodied is simply a mask.

“Phoenix”

I was lucky enough to meet an amazing person and now friend, named Carter. Her story, bravery, and acerbic humor won me over instantly. We decided to collaborate on a portrait centered around her being a burn survivor. A story about tragic circumstances that lead to a pain so immense that burning herself seemed like the only answer out. What started as photoshoot turned into a beautiful video about the reclamation of her body, the rebirth of her soul, and the very moment a phoenix rise from the ashes.