My passion for drawing and painting started early and was cultivated by a family of artists, musicians and writer’s.

I am a graduate of the Art Institute of Seattle and Evergreen State college. As a community artist, I am inspired to use art and design as a catalyst to open dialog and reflection. My work has been exhibited in groups and solo shows throughout the State of Washington and abroad. In my style of painting, I use bold bright colors and expressive brush strokes to capture the spirit and unique character of what I’m observing.

In 2021 I painted a 36 x 8-foot mural titled Interconnections for a #DesignTheHill Low Income Housing Development reclamation project.  And that same year I completed an indoor mural titled, In Loving Memory for the Eastside Community Center. The mural is a memorial, 42 x 17 feet and dedicated to all the young people from the Eastside of Tacoma who have lost their lives to gun violence. Recently I completed a Black Lives Matter mural, painted on the steps of Tollefson Plaza in Tacoma Washington. The mural commissioned by Tacoma Art Museum and the city of Tacoma celebrates black life and culture in Tacoma in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. In 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 epidemic, I exhibited Hilltop Stories Visual and Audio Reflections. This exhibit was published on the Tacoma Public Library website and included 11 paintings ranging in size from 24 x 24 inches to 4 x 4 feet. The exhibit celebrated my family ties to the (Hill)top neighborhood and the effects of creative culture on the economy.

Being influenced by a gamut of talented artists since childhood, I developed a love of art.  Norman Rockwell mesmerized me, as I stared at the fine detail and laughed at the whimsical humor he evoked through his paintings.  Later, artists like Claude Monet swept me away into the fantasy of soothing landscapes.  The vibrancy of Jacob Lawrence’s work and the emotion of his pictorial tales created an interest in art history, which later would manifest in my first series of portraits.

That first series was one of my most memorable. It involved painting a series of portraits of Washington State’s First African American Pioneers.  These oil paintings began as a permanent museum exhibit at the African American Museum of Tacoma Washington.  In researching the history of each pioneer, I discovered the rich culture of African Americans in Washington State and all over the world.  This experience fueled my interest in portraiture and capturing the essence and character of a person on canvas.  By learning as much as possible about the person I begin the exploration process.  This helps me to discover the traits, the touch I need to bring a person’s image to life on canvas.

Art making is an exploration, and we all learn by exploring a constantly changing world. I use my imagination to record what I see. And I explore the core concept of drawing and painting, observing life and expressing the subtle changes in light and shadow reflected on forms.  Mainly I’ve discovered that I must trust my instincts and hands to record what I observe and accept the process which changes, grows, and develops to new levels constantly. 

I thank God for each day and hope to use my artistic skill to do truly transformational work.

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