In my drawings I explore concepts of movement, personal depiction and body language. I believe that each moment is as fleeting as the rise and fall of breath. In art, despite our best intentions, portraying an exact moment in time with the figure is generally just out of reach. I primarily use graphite to reinforce this concept; the pencil can be erased as easily as a facial expression or as bone pressing against the skin can disappear. Traditional approaches to drawing employ a variety of different tools to help interpret the subject that I see onto a sheet of paper. Even with the help of these academic methods, art cannot become an exact science. With emotion, perception and travail, I seek to find the best possibility of visual translation of the immeasurable realities that I see and experience.

I challenge myself with the intangible aspects that human nature carries. The figure in general offers not only something about the sitter, but also about us and human kind as well. Without the shield of individual expression through clothing, I strive to capture subconscious states that come naturally in posture and facial expression. The work that I create is translated through not only my temperament but the subjects and the viewers as well. This combined interaction generates my intrigue of working with people. I could draw the same person a multitude of times and each piece would be a different experience as the variables of our sensibilities change.

Our independent perceptions change as rapidly as our society changes around us. This social progression alone keeps my work informed and current. The female image in social context, and our relationship to it, is complex and stimulating. Although I use traditional representational methods, I believe my drawings are subtly but firmly linked to the contemporary culture through concept. By presenting realism in a way other than its antiquated stereotype, I hope that a larger audience will in some way relate to my work.

 

born: 1973, Rochester, NY

education

University of Cincinnati, MFA
Columbus College of Art & Design, BFA

selected awards/honors

Lexington Art League Nude International: First Place Award, 2006
ARC Renewal Center Online Competition & Exhibition: First Place/Drawing Category, 2005
Lessedra Gallery & Contemporary Art Projects, Sofia, Bulgaria: Special Prize, 2005
Columbus College of Art &Design: Faculty Enrichment Grant, 2005

selected publications

Morales, N. Drawing Inward, Taking Shape. Springfield, OH: Springfield News-Sun, 2006
Arnot Art Museum; Re-Presenting RepresentationVII. Wilmington, MA: Kirkwood Printing p. 51, 2005
Los Angeles Printmaking Society; 18th National Exhibition. Pasadena, CA: Castle Press p. 9-10, 2005
Arc Renewal Center; International 2005 ARC Salon. Port Reading, NJ p. 20, 2005

selected solo or two-person exhibits

GALLERY V: Realism Plus, Columbus, OH, 2005
Philip M. Meyers, Jr. Memorial Gallery: Immeasurable Realities, Cincinnati, OH, 2005
Manifest Gallery: Figures in Gray, Invitational Inaugural Exhibition. Cincinnati, OH, 2005
GALLERY V: Feminine Mystique, Columbus, OH, 2003

selected group shows

Turner Carroll Gallery: Contemporary Drawing, Santa Fe, NM, 2006
Lexington Art League: Nude International 2006, Loudoun House Gallery; Lexington, KY, 2006
Artnot Art Museum: Re-Presenting Representation VII, Elmira, NY, 2005
Seraphin Gallery: Out of Line, Philadelphia, PA, 2005