I find it hard to breathe while amid creation. I am engulfed in the muse. I see an avenue in chaos to manipulate the materials through color, movement, and texture. My work is intuitive, influenced not just by my surroundings but also by my mind and heart.

I compose visual stories about the environment, the political world, and hope. My process starts with pages torn from old National Geographic magazines. I soak these in a citrus solvent found in any hardware store. The solvent breaks down the inks and blurs the images and text during the long maturation process. What results often has a mystical and worldly air. Then, I begin mark-making with charcoal and pencils. Over this, I add textured paper, acrylic paint, cold wax, and oil paint, which creates patterns and depth.

My passion is stirred by the ocean view I have from my home, news articles, and memory fragments of the past and present. I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Youngstown State University. My paintings have been exhibited throughout the United States and have hung in the Newark Museum, New Jersey, Bristol Museum, Rhode Island, and The Noyes Museum Stockton University at the galleries at Kramer Hall.

I pursue the truth of the ideal world in the digital rainforest. In Plato’s allegory of the cave, the prisoners only face the walls and shadows so that they lose the ability to discern the truth. My works contemplated the increasing digitization of society, especially the technology used to monitor human behavior. My work—– The New Order (2020) The Last Supper, is the final meal shared by Jesus and his disciples before his crucifixion. After the last supper, Christians were further persecuted by those in power. It marked the beginning of the Christian dark age. Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, The New Order has taken this reference and reflects the situation of society in the post-digital surveillance era which includes the changes in mentality; economy; human behavior, and all kinds of propaganda. With technology taking over our lives, humans and technology have become inseparable and we rely on it so much. Humans and technology somehow live in symbiosis nowadays. In the past centuries, human behavior and mind are shaped by government, education, law, religion, etc. All these are imposed by the one in power to teach us how we should behave and think accordingly. For now, with the help of algorithms, it has become the tool for the one in power to shape human behavior and mind in a very efficient and effective way. The New Order is about how humans respond to life in this post-digital surveillance era.

When I began my journey into the world of art, I was very shy. I certainly wasn’t young and had lots of confidence in other areas of my life as an author, actor, and screenwriter. I didn’t have the courage in those early days to even show my family. I simply thought I wasn’t good enough. Then one day, I accidentally left a painting out on my kitchen table and welcomed some friends who all noticed the painting. I had forgotten I had left it out on the show. Their reaction was priceless. At first, they simply didn’t believe I had painted it! That’s how it really started for me. I was very prolific, preferring to use only acrylic paints.

I discovered all sorts of techniques, some worked, some didn’t. And I certainly didn’t want to be bogged down with trying to find my ‘style’. That eventually came through, without warning, almost sneaking up behind me. It took me by surprise. I first realized that I had brought together a number of techniques, some known, and some I developed, like my ‘Rectangular Blocking’ (R&B’s) and my ‘Acrylosculpt’ techniques. This meant some of my paintings were tactile, and those with sight difficulties could feel my paintings, which added to their appreciation of art.

Of course, during all those formative years in West Africa, the influence of strong, vibrant colors and images comes to the fore in lots of my paintings to create an ‘African Influence.’

This body of work is cold wax and oil on wood panels. The properties of cold wax fascinate me and keep me curious; how the underlying layers inform and alter the layers applied over them, how incising and scraping, and glazing make more changes. I know I am wielding the palette knife and mixing the colors, but what happens on the panel is beyond my control. I’m learning how to be fine with the state of ‘not knowing’.

Being an animal activist and feminist, my artwork flows from what moves me and from where I find beauty: women, animals, the earth, color, pattern, and light. My art represents the deep connection I feel with these elements. Through my artwork, I create a world as I would like it to be, where harmony exists between animals and humans, and where nature thrives. Art is where I go for refuge, replenishing, and how I pay homage to what sustains me.

In my cold wax paintings, the properties of this medium fascinate me and keep me curious; how the underlying layers inform and alter the layers applied over them, how incising and scraping and glazing make more changes. I know I am wielding the palette knife and mixing the colors, but what happens on the panel is beyond my control. I’m learning how to be fine with the state of ‘not knowing’.

When I began my journey into the world of art. I was very shy. I certainly wasn’t young and had lots of confidence in other areas of my life as an author, actor, and screenwriter. I didn’t have the courage in those early days to even show my family. I simply thought I wasn’t good enough. Then one day I accidentally left a painting out on my kitchen table and welcomed some friends who all noticed the painting. I had forgotten I had left it out on the show. Their reaction was priceless. At first, they simply didn’t believe I had painted it! That’s how it really started for me. I was very prolific, preferring to use only acrylic paints.

I discovered all sorts of techniques, some worked, some didn’t. And I certainly didn’t want to be bogged down with trying to find my ‘style’. That eventually came though, without warning, almost sneaking up behind me. It took me by surprise. I first realized that I had brought together a number of techniques, some known, and some I developed, like my ‘Rectangular Blocking’ (R&B’s) and my ‘Acrylosculpt’ techniques. This meant some of my paintings were tactile, and those with sight difficulties, could feel my paintings which added to their appreciation of art.

Of course, during all those formative years in West Africa, the influence of strong vibrant colors, and images, comes to the fore in lots of my paintings to create an ‘African Influence.’

Photography is painting with light. I usually get out at golden hour, calm, centered, almost in a meditative state. The submitted photographs for Summer Lovin were both taken by the water. An element essential to life and which is representative of summer to me. To cool off, we all jump or dive in, or we go for a stroll on the beach or by the lake. That’s what is represented here.

Lingering on the beach and waiting to come across patterns, puddles, and reflections on the sand at sundown. Be at the right place at the right time when youngsters put on a show with their dives. I think I used to dive like him, powerful and agile. Initially, I was there to watch the sunset, surprises like these make my day, and allow me to capture candid shots. I was very happy with that one.

The constant use of technology often dwindles our imaginations. Modern society causes us to spiral into chaos with the mainstream way of life, ignoring the voice of nature. Our environment is in mourning because many have forgotten the old ways of the world. It is time to inspire the world to listen to the Earth once again to reignite our souls and minds.

The realm of the fae is calling! Faeries bring peace and glamour into our dimension. I utilize magic within my artistic soul to summon these creatures so that anyone can experience their charm and be inspired to rediscover nature.

My work is conjured onto canvas using copious amounts of modeling paste and acrylic paint with multiple layers of various application techniques. Bold colors, metallic hues, and intense textures are used to emphasize the vibe of my subjects, inspiring the viewer to experience the essence of these beings. I am perpetually discovering new ways to bring my faeries to life so they can rebuild our imaginations.

I speak in color. I offer a joyous journey into a chroma-saturated world on a path of discovery, of the art, myself, and hopefully for the viewer. As an artist, I try to express the truth I see and feel, primarily in oils.

As light filters through elements, I see their reality. But when I imagine the potential of sight or vision on a canvas, I see color. I see what could and may be. At a cellular level, there is color. I’m not repainting the world. I’m just offering a different idea of how things could be.

Painting, for me, is a Zen-like activity. It provides a great deal of peace, even when I’m debating a painting. In the honorable struggle of creation, I remain committed to the discovery and to creating compelling works.

It is my wish that, through my paintings, viewers never find the last idea but rather the ongoing inspiration of possibility that I, too, enjoy.