Interview

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I grew up in the small town of Brewton, AL and attended the University of Alabama. I graduated with a teaching degree and my first job was teaching elementary school art. I was always creative and interested in art, but I did not receive any formal education in art or art history. I was a true beginner. I received my knowledge of art through the Sarah Carlisle Towery Art Colony. I learned a lot about art and myself here. It is where I met my two mentors, Hugh Williams and Patt Odom. Hugh was tough and challenged me constantly. He taught me to view the world in a different way. I began to find beauty in everything from large paintings to tiny pieces of trash on the ground.
I am so honored to have studied under Hugh. My other mentor, Patt, was also a student of Hugh's. She is an excellent teacher and a beautiful soul. She always gave me assignments and guidance to help me be my best. I attended every workshop I could get to and studied as much as I could. I was selling paintings locally at the time but it was not until my youngest was born that I painted full time. That is when my paintings changed. I would be in the studio from 8-5 each day and then return after my kids were in bed to paint through the night.
At this time, my mental health diagnosis changed from bipolar two to bipolar one. I had so much energy that my hands could not keep up with my ideas. I painted nonstop. If I had not had art at that time in my life, I am not sure how I would have handled my manic episodes. Art truly saved my life and I thank God for giving me art when I needed it most. I started selling more and producing a lot of work. I painted several bodies of work at once and created installations throughout my studio. I created in this passionate, prolific way for eight years. Sometimes it was fun and other times miserable. Although I am still rather prolific, I have slowed down. I only complete about a fourth of what I used to, but I finish more projects now.”

What inspires you?

“I have always been inspired by traveling. It makes me feel so alive. The street signs are letters and numbers rather than words. My surroundings are so different, and I can see the beauty. I don't see a door; I see a painting. I don't see a bicycle; I see a painting. Storefronts are abstract paintings, and the cafe umbrellas are shapes. All of my senses wake up and I can see again. Life gets so busy, and we don't have time to look or notice the beauty, and it is everywhere. I slow down and sit and soak in everything. I hear laughter, see smiles and feel the warmth, and can see the inner beauty of people shine. If I am ever in a rut, I know it is time to travel. It gets me in the space to create with excitement and to see with fresh eyes again.”

What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?

“Through my art, I desire to help people feel understood and less alone in their struggles with mental illness. I show the beauty and chaos within these experiences, highlighting the infinite nature of our minds.”

“Through my art, I desire to help people feel understood and less alone in their struggles with mental illness.”

How would you describe your work?

“My works are the results of intense and intimate conversations spoken in the language of form, space, color, and gesture. While my paintings may feature forms or silhouettes, they are deeply connected to the process of painting, which mirrors the process of living itself. In my artistic process, I strive to find a balance, replicating the constant struggle that exists in all aspects of life. As I work, the figurative forms within the composition come to life, providing structure to the layers of underpainting beneath. These implied figures serve to mask or distract from the raw honesty that I am not always ready to fully reveal. In a way, the figurative forms in my art reflect the masks that each of us wears to navigate daily life.”

Which artists influence you most?

“Van Gogh, Richard Diebenkorn, Jackson Pollock, and Yayoi Kusama.”

What is your creative process like?

“I view my work as being process-oriented. The first few strokes are extremely impulsive. I enter a sort of spiritual or meditative mental space. I stay in this safe place for as long as I can, but I eventually step back to see what I have painted. To others, I am not sure what they see at this stage, but I see a world of images. I see my thoughts, safe places, fears, stories of my life, fun times, and bad times. Next, I start chasing some of the images that I see. Each stroke turns into another image. Each dot of paint contains its own world, evoking its own feelings and experiences. Every movement of my eye or dot of paint changes the story and the images keep moving. The hardest part is when I must commit to the final image. I work slower in this stage and plan each stroke carefully. It is a struggle between what makes sense visually and the little pieces left from the first impulsive strokes. I have heard that if you can figure out your paintings, you can figure out your life. I have not figured it out yet and it may take a lifetime. I don't want to lose the secret places that come from my soul that only I can read, but I don't want a viewer to get inside my paintings and see everything that is under it either. This balance is not only my goal in painting but also in my life.”

What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?

“I think artists are able to show things from the inside out. They immerse you in experiences, offering different perspectives that evoke feelings rather than mere observations.”

Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?

“I had a solo show at DK Gallery in Marietta, GA called The Space in Between. I was able to do an installation that is just a small glimpse into a bigger show that I have been working towards. It was a touch of infinity while showing the stages of mania. I am continuing to explore this theme, and this show was the beginning of that.”