Through the genre of still life painting, I investigate the physical and emotional effects of light and color, as well as the visual aesthetics of written language. I aim to connect these interests in a visually pleasing and thought-provoking way. I work in oils and mixed media. In many of my paintings, light passes through translucent objects, creating a luminous interior glow. When I want my oil paintings to recreate the physical sensations of light, I sometimes achieve this by painting on plexiglass lightboxes. These lightboxes, which I build myself, contain tiny low-heat LEDs. When I paint on my lightboxes, the light glows through the paintings from within, giving the brushstrokes increased visibility and creating an intense, vibrant, colorful stained-glass effect. My paintings reveal my fascination with the soft, warm, spellbinding marvel of light. I prefer joyful colors, such as yellow, orange, and light green. Circular motifs and halo-like shapes figure prominently in my paintings as symbols of empowerment and perfection. My method of painting is detailed and meticulous, and my imagery is realistic.

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I often include text in my paintings, particularly in works on paper. This text is not often clearly related to the imagery; instead, it offers a glimpse into the thoughts occurring in my mind as I am painting. This becomes a very personal form of artistic expression. Sometimes my text is original; sometimes it quotes authors or activists whose ideas interest me. The language of my text is primarily English. Often the text in my artwork deals with themes of feminism, women’s rights, immigration, prejudice, religion, children’s rights, and disability rights. In other paintings, however, my text simply describes the visual content of the image using a great deal of sensory language. The text in my artwork is rarely linear; it typically swirls around and does not offer a clear beginning or end to the narrative.

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