Yanapuma Painting

Growing up in rural western Wisconsin, I spent most of my childhood exploring the woods of my parents' 20+ acres of land. I was an introverted, quiet and sensitive child with a love of exploring both the world around me and the world inside my mind. Today, my paintings and drawings are reflections of my mind's journey through those childhood places where the remembered and the imagined intersect. My imagination influences my memories. What I choose to take with me from my past is altered over time by what I believe myself to be and what I want to become. Because I'm relying on recollection, my process is as strongly influenced by internal factors as by direct observation. My moods, my personal feelings toward the subject I'm painting, and even books I'm reading at the time have an influence on the final piece. Being a person that spends a great deal of time in my head, I can't help but incorporate those mental experiences into my process. As a result, my paintings and drawings develop whimsical characteristics with unusual color combinations and abstracted shapes building upon the composition. When I look at them in retrospect, I not only see the places I've been to in my past, but I also see the places I explore in my mind, the intersection of memory and imagination.