For 16 years, I’ve been working to complete a body of art that focuses on the underbelly of personal emotional dialog, primarily questions of my own physical abilities (or lack there of) and intellectual shortcomings. Coupled with an intense interest in the extremes to which people go to toward achieving satisfaction, be it physical, spiritual, emotional, or sexual. Like the Austrian, and German Expressionists before me, I’ve attempted to open doors to a world that may be uncomfortable for some to step in to. A glaring reality that uses humor to convey scenarios, which the viewer is attracted to, though generally left with a sense of shamed arousal. I desire to take this a step further with my newest body of work, and actually force the viewer to take an unabashed look at their own past.

A majority of these ‘found paintings’ are what could have hung on the walls of their childhood homes, or perhaps on the walls of a grandparent’s house. One could feel quite at ease looking at the atypical art liquidation style sofa painting, yet simultaneously feel a bit unnerved taking in the conflicting image. These people aren’t supposed to be there. Or are they? Perhaps they were all that was missing from the previously assumed finished pieces. Secondly, and more subtly, I’ve also played with a diorama concept. Unlike the ‘found paintings’, the diorama concept itself may conjure up memories of childhood activities and grade school projects, while the scenarios unfolding within illustrate a nightmarish small town story line one could simply hope to never experience first hand.

Much like looking into a mirror, and barely recognizing the face that’s looking back, my hope is to convey what could only be described as an uncomfortable familiarity.