Facing Disaster: A Prayer for Hope and Peace Painting

FOR FULL ARTIST STATEMENT: Please visit my website. My artistic practice can be divided into two general categories: observational, and the contemplation of beliefs and values. The collections here correspond with the painting categories found on my website: Allegory (Spirituality), Contemplative Prayer (Angels), and Regional (Observational). Ultimately, it's about observation, contemplation, meditation and prayer through painting. I’m interested in belief and value systems (i.e., philosophy, psychology, religion, and mythology), and the study of inherited truths. Specifically, how we create our own realities every day through the adoption of prescribed precepts and unquestioned thoughts we entertain as the truth. Whether we are dealing with the topics of religion, politics, or social norms, we often take directions unquestionably. We assume we are given truths that are absolute, truths that are forever static or are for others to determine and adjust. It is important for people to make up their own minds; therefore, my work is not about teaching a certain perspective. Instead its purpose is to raise awareness to a topic so that the focus is firmly set on the viewer’s perceptions, giving them an opportunity to question issues for themselves.