An eighties baby from the south side of Chicago, I took an early interest in drawing and painting. At 19 after becoming a bboy and discovering hip hop culture and the art of graffiti, I would spend the next several years moving through the ranks of urban art in Chicago. At the same time, traditional art and art history remained a passion. Art history videos on youtube led to painting tutorial/technique videos and it was only a matter of time before he began experimenting with canvas painting. After about a decade of consistent practice and consistent learning, I began to find my true calling in portrait painting; specifically the rendering of the intangible such as emotional states and psychological concepts via vibrant color and strong composition.
I am absolutely in love with the art of painting. I do my best to ingest as much art on a daily basis as I possibly can and I hope that it reflects in my work. Art has the power to amuse, inspire, and/or heal and each piece that I create has a focus centered on one of these 3 attributes.
Every piece that I create is a snapshot of who I am at that period of life and how I see the world. In my more surreal/dream-scape type compositions Im typically trying to create a piece of work that will provide a vibrant visual and cerebral experience for any viewer regardless of age, race, nationality, gender, etc; the goal really is to create a piece of work that somehow communicates a common theme or feeling universally.
A vast majority of my portrait paintings are commemoration pieces and it has been an absolute honor to be chosen to capture the memory of a loved one and add some healing energy to the void that such a loss can leave behind.
Painting is a never ending journey of growth and exploration. Every piece that I create is a lesson. Through the use of vibrant color, strong composition, and subtle symbolism I’m striving to push the boundaries of traditional painting while constantly improving. I hope to inspire other artists/creators as much as I find inspiration in them on a daily basis.