statement

Zombies vs. Pirates: Line Up, Shake Hands, Good Game

As a culture we walk a fine line.  Struggling to balance the stresses in our lives.  We battle between choosing sedentary diversions that allow us to hibernate and turn off our brains, and choosing activities that will enrich our lives.  I began drawing secluded, vacant, zombie-like figures; who had relaxed in their habits until they lost time.  They anesthetized themselves and became sluggish, jaundiced, and so lacking muscle tone that they hung over their chairs and defied anatomy.  These zombie figures, trapped in their rooms, are morphing into ornery, striped pirates; waking up on the wrong side of the bed.  They are more alert, and as a result, more grumpy.  Although still stuck in their chairs, going nowhere, they‚re stirring and restless, foreshadowing future adventures.  It's well worth some pouting and furrowed brows to be certain that we don't sleepwalk through our lives.  It's zombies vs. pirates and if I were you, I'd put my money on the pirates.

The most an artist can do is draw the things they know and hope other people see things from a new perspective.  What I know is that if it were not for the act of drawing, I would be lost to the inactive worlds I depict.

bio

born:1980, Albany, New York

education:

University of New Hampshire, BFA, 2004
Indiana University, MFA, 2007

selected awards/honors

Dean's Research and Creative Proposal Grant,  University of Louisiana at Monroe, 2008
Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant, 2007

selected publications

New American Paintings; Juried Exhibitions-In-Print. No. 88. pgs. 58-61, 2010

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Barnwell Art Center: Zombies vs. Pirates: Line Up, Shake Hands, Good Game, Shreveport, LA, 2010

selected group shows

Masur Museum of Art: About Face: A Study of Portraiture, Monroe, LA, 2011
University of New Hampshire Museum of Art: ReView: UNH Juried Alumni Exhibition, Durham, NH, 2011
Antelope Valley College Art Gallery: Odd Harmonies: Collage in Painting and Drawing, Lancaster, CA, 2010
The Louisiana State Museum: 7th Annual Art Melt Juried Contemporary Art Competition, Baton Rouge, LA, 2010