My artwork has always concentrated on the figure. I initially focused on the portrait to gain commissions but soon found a means to express myself. My portraits have become a metaphor for how I personally relate to the world.

My most recent paintings have become increasingly reflective on my experiences moving to and living in New York City. As one could imagine, the differences between Norman, Oklahoma and a city where 8 million people live, are great. Living here, where meeting new people is surprisingly difficult, has been lonely and surreal.

The portraits are of my friends, old and new alike. I chose to paint them because I adore them all, but I also find them to be useful metaphors. The figures in my portraits are used as objects to illustrate my own relationship to the world. The paintings are less about the figure than they are about a time in my own life, or feelings I have.

I chose to set my portraits in the New York City subways because these scenes are meant to communicate a transient feeling. The transience of relationships not only with places but also with people and their ever changing identities.

The animals and natural imagery in my paintings represent a connection to nature, and on a greater level, a connection to a core identity. This is where I feel I enter the work. They help me to communicate and also understand my feelings of separation from my surroundings.