Embracing Hope Painting

I'm a New York artist who has won many awards for my psychologically penetrating paintings. At heart, I am a storyteller. My paintings are usually based on images from the news, magazines, or photos that I take. Something about the image catches my eye - a gaze, a pose, a setting. Often, it is just watching someone interacting with another person or their surroundings, Although many of my subjects are strangers, my paintings become strong psychological studies of them, pushing the boundaries beyond traditional portraiture. My work has a depth of feeling that elicits a strong emotional response from viewers, especially those interested in our changing social, political and cultural landscape and the current of anxiety that exists today. The intimacy and humanism of ordinary people by Goya and Rembrandt inspire me. In my own work, I often paint isolated figures with a haunting gaze, suggesting the current of anxiety that exists in today's world. My moody and mysterious portraits evince strength, vulnerability and emotion while questioning popular ideas about gender, race and beauty.There is often a sense of loss and renewal.