In the past year a significant shift has taken place in my art. As my world view has changed in the past few years, so has my purpose as an artist. In the past my work mostly focused on my personal ideas and emotions. While these elements are certainly still present in my work, they are no longer the focus. My goal with this new series of works is to focus on the experiences of others, particularly those on the fringes of society. This includes people from across the globe. Some of them are living in today’s world, others from years back.

Photographs from a variety of sources became a necessity in completing the works, not necessarily to render the faces and figures accurately, but to find real people in real situations to connect with. The challenge then became to make my paintings more than simple reworking of photographs. With each piece I made a variety of choices to reinterpret the original images, in many cases finding ways to integrate people into what started as abstract expressionist paintings. It was important to me that the abstractions and the representational elements of each piece coalesce to produce a unified design that will impact the viewer.

It should be noted that these works are not intended to invoke pity, or in any way distance the viewer from those suffering and in need. My intention is to invoke empathy and a longing for justice in a treacherous, violent, unforgiving world. Remarkably, in the midst of so much injustice, I also found hope.

Artist Biography

I was born in Germany in 1980. When I was 8 years old, my family moved to the Philippines and I spent the rest of my childhood years in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia and Malaysia. My love for art began at an early age, I have been drawing literally for as long as I can remember. Nearly everything that excited me became an inspiration for a drawing. In high school I began exploring the more expressive and abstract qualities of painting. I graduated in 1999 and moved to Oklahoma in 2000 to study fine art and education. I was married to my wife Laura in 2002 and graduated with my Bachelor in Fine Art Education in 2005. I currently teach art at Edmond North High School in Edmond, Oklahoma and live in the same town with Laura and our two kids, Ava and Elijah. I held my first solo exhibit at IAO gallery in downtown Oklahoma City in 2006 and have participated in a variety of exhibits ever since.

Artist Highlights

• ArtWanted.com Gallery:    Fine Art
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