I became an artist when I realized that the painter and the person are one. My artwork is a record of how far I’ve come and how much further I still have to go. The process I go through in my art making parallels the struggles I have gone through in my personal life; two steps forward and one step back. Each painting is a page in my story, the narrative are the lessons I have acquired along the way. My days are a never-ending landscape with peaks and valleys, rainstorms, and sunny days. The layers in my paintings are the scars of life, the drips are the tears.

According to my GPS, 1173 miles is the distance between Fort Dodge, Iowa, and New York City. My hometown and the city I currently reside in. It is also the ethereal distance I reach for as my final destination where the struggles of life is finally over.