Slow Burn Painting

I am a Harlem based painter, actor and personal trainer. Growing up in East Orange and North Brunswick, NJ, I was drawn to sports like many young boys. My personal interest in health & fitness led me to manage a health food store in my early 20s. The store focused on vitamins; natural herbs; and holistic health, healing, and energies. It was during this time a creative energy awakened within me. In my mid 20s, I moved to New York City where I began an artistic journey that included experimentation with theatre, film, music and modeling. However, it was when I put a paintbrush to canvas that I found myself able to enter an almost meditative state that allowed my creative energy to flow. My work is inspired by my Harlem neighborhood. Through images of jazz instruments, performers, and modern dancers I evoke its jazz era roots, political history and the vibrancy of its revitalization.