"Ablaze" Painting

I am currently interested in two overarching subjects in my art. The first, is a deep appreciation--and concern--for the environment. And the second, is the global problem of fostering real cultural inclusion and social competence. Regarding the latter issue, I believe in order to achieve true inclusivity, we must start by examining ourselves from within. I am a hybrid, a cultural Frankenstein born from living in so many different countries, growing up with immigrant parents, and being exposed to so many religions and cultures at such a young age. By exploring these cultural connections and clashes I uncover in my own psyche, I am striving to develop a kind of emotional fluency in myself. I believe if we all pool this emotional and cultural fluency together, we can learn to truly accept one another. For the pieces that are meditations on the environment, I use both slow and meditative, as well as aggressive mark-making techniques to evoke the essence of mother nature, in all of its simultaneous tranquility and turbulence. My distinctive color palette is heavily influenced by my world travels--the deep ochres and olives of my desert childhood, the serene emeralds of a trek across the Mongolian plains, the exhilarating ceruleans of the glaciers of Torres Del Paine.