Acrylic on Paper
Saturday, June 19th, 1999
Upon moving to New York City, I was inspired by the urban scapes surrounding me: the buildings, street signs, cracks in the pavement. These urban details are simple when isolated, yet part of a complex system. I drastically changed my artistic direction in order to create something completely new, reflective of this urban inspiration.
I base my paintings on what others might deem ordinary. When something catches my eye, I focus my attention on it, and then create a two-dimensional, black and white sketch of it. Back in my studio, I look at my sketches and no longer see the thing I originally sketched, but I find new imagery within the negative spaces of the sketch itself. I then proceed to fill those areas with the appropriate colors from a carefully selected color palatte, creating balance or tension as needed. The city feels this way to me: the forms, the colors, simplicity and complexity living together in harmony.
My intention is to extract beauty from the ordinary using simple line and color work, revealing the complexities of my urban experience and the beauty which I see daily.

In order to releive the stress of running my own design studio, I picked up a few canvases and started experimenting with acrylic paints and pastels. Soon I started showing at the Iansiti Art Gallery in Costa Mesa, CA. After three successful art exhibits I moved to NY and soaked up as much culture as I could before embarking in the fine arts for the second stint, changing my painting style dramatically.