“Every new commission I accept is a new challenge, and I have been made a better artist because of it.”

“As a body of work, these paintings examine the intersections of landscape painting, gendered gaze, feminine experience, and the language of abstraction.”

“All my images are self-portraits in a certain way. Each image reflects little snippets of my life that show up, to pull viewers into another world to escape their own reality, and into a magical space.”

“I've been heavily influenced since I can remember by subcultures like glam rock, punk, the New Romantics, and club scenes. In my portraits I confront this idea of personal identity and social status in American counterculture in the hopes of possibly obtaining a better understanding of myself I suppose.”

“I like the tactile feel of the pastel. For me, the pure pigment in pastel can create a luminosity and vivid quality that is harder to create with any other medium.”

“We’ve managed to find ways to create small successes in our home space that we try to share with others through teaching and our artistic practice. However, it’s just as important to focus on failures so that you can always improve.”

“It is definitely more than just studio spaces. It is a community and we actively try to provide opportunities for artists on the mountain to share work. We facilitate workshops, classes, exhibitions, residencies, and more.”

“Painting has saved me in many ways. It’s very much like a form of prayer or meditation for me. When I’m painting it seems to truly clear my mind of all other thoughts and troubles…”

“Most of life is in the small details. I like looking for them because they tell the story.”

“My aim is to expand the gallery in every way possible—collections and exhibitions, educational programming, and outreach.”

“I came to look at drawing and shading as translating information. If I translate the data just right by making sure all of those nonsensical shapes and patterns come together, it’s magical.”

“I remember the childhood smell of the pottery shop at the AAC, which smells kind of like freshly ground pepper to me (really, it’s mold) and when I returned there in my thirties after 20 something years away, it smelled exactly the same and it smelled like home.”

“The funny thing about art is that the most mundane locations, almost without exception, create the most interesting paintings.”

“I want my paintings to feel like they are caught in between stillness and motion.”

“I chose photography because my subject matter is outside of myself. The act of identifying and interacting with interesting subject matter has the healthy effect of grounding me.”

“Painting for me is to speak without speaking. I feel free when I paint – I feel relaxed. It is like everything disappears around me and I am submerged in my own story.”

“I enjoy the process of working with someone’s idea and translating it into a work of art they’ll love. Commissions make the creation of art a little less of a solo endeavor and a little more of a shared experience.”

“Sometimes things work out well, sometimes they return to the studio floor. I find that when the outcome is successful, I am really pleased with finding resolve in something so unlikely to have found that place of rest.”

“I am obsessed with patterns, especially the naturally occurring ones I find in nature. For me, that kind of beauty is spiritual in a sense.”