Washing Hands Painting

I make my art form of portraiture juxtaposing ordinary, routine tasks against a backdrop of current news articles that feature a variety of social, political, and environmental issues and events. My artwork is meant to be influential. I love working in oil paint to express my feelings and ideas. Reading and listening to the news can be disturbing. Rather than getting frustrated by my inability to effect significant changes, I channel my emotions into my work using cutout news articles as background collage. Working in a style drawing the viewers in, I paint portraits or hands doing mundane tasks, like clipping nails, washing, and searching on the smartphone. Viewers may have been unaware or indifferent to the subject of the articles, as is the person in the foreground. Still, they can study the articles and, even better, become involved after reading. Hopefully, it was a novel way of expressing my opinions. Later on, I became enamored with the addition of floating soap bubbles to my recent works as a metaphor for my beliefs, hopes, and dreams, spreading my concerns about the subject of the individual articles below. History shows we cannot have a bright future without correct historical recognition and reflection. I try to find the truth by using historical articles and the realities of current issues to inform the next generation. I hope my paintings can make a difference. My work received 32 awards, including a 2011 fellowship grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Best of Show 2004 from the Heartland Exhibition of the City of Merriam in Kansas, and a Xavier Gonzalez & Edwards grant for painting from the Artists League of NY in 2003.