How do you represent freedom in a piece of art - or the joy of surviving darkness to tell a new story about the value of creative liberty. The work in my Graffiti series came after a long period away from my art and concurrent with the emotional loss of a family member. The pieces are informed by hardship and grief but they are intended to show resolve and transformation. I wanted both sides of that divide to be felt, to feel tactile and fluid. The paintings are done on wood panel and built up with hard plaster. The graffiti is done as a separate creative act - as if a self-contained piece of art - and then grafted into the painting and overlaid with the neon and the bright light of words that have mattered to me through this period. Ideas that I’ve had to struggle with and somehow find my way beyond - control, trust. beauty, horror. A rallying call for this series was the lyrical and rebellious energy in Trent Reznor’s music, the rage in his release.

head like a hole. black as your soul. I'd rather die than give you control

Death is contained in each of us but so is life and liberty, youth and freedom. Graffiti explores my personal effort to find my way to fresh inspiration.