Artist Statement

I ride a bicycle for transportation, but also as a means of clearing my head. I
can move through the city quickly, easily stopping to take it all in, or escape to areas
that are quiet, like wooded areas, old industrial sites, places near train tracks, and
bridges. These areas are the kinds of places where I painted graffiti as a youth, and
may explain why I feel a need to return. This history in graffiti also informs how I
work as an artist. I mostly use spray paint, which is great for working large, fast, and
freely. This has translated directly into my progression of painting murals. Thanks
to graffiti I discovered stencils. Their versatility to create repetitious forms, crisp
lines, and harness the qualities of spray paint drew me to them. These stencils
started as simple single color pieces, and have evolved into intricate multi-layered
pieces.
My newest series titled Escapism use wildlife such as birds, foxes, deer and
sea creatures, to represent this idea of getting away from the boundaries of
mankind. These animals exist alongside geometric forms, heavy patterning and
representations of the crumbling infrastructure of the places that I like to visit. The
smaller pieces have recently moved onto wooden panels which seem more versatile
for the way I work than the paper and canvas the series began on, and starts to point
towards the surfaces on which you might find graffiti.