Two New Paintings in the Animalia III Show | Abend Gallery Denver

Hello! I’m honored to be included in the Abend Gallery show Animalia III an animal themed show! Below you will find two brand new paintings that I created specifically for this show. I worked incredibly hard on each of these pieces so I really hope that you enjoy them. As of the writing of this blog post “Mutuality” has been sold but “Reflected Soul” is still available for purchase. Click the button below to view the whole show on the Abend Gallery website!

"Reflected Soul" | 16" Framed | $2000

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This piece illustrates the very special relationship that humans can have with animals. The animal kingdom is diverse and powerful and we aren’t as separate from it as much as we often think. This is made apparent when we have brief yet significant moments of connection with an animals out in their element.

When a person stumbles on the right animal it can reflect our souls back at us, revealing a new understanding of ourselves on how we relate to the world around us. These unique life forms can often bring out our best traits such as gratitude, understanding and empathy. Animals such as this starling can remind us of the strength and fragility of the natural world and the intricate patterns on its feathers serve as a reminder that all life on this earth is complex and valuable.

"Mutuality" | 11"x14" Framed | SOLD

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This piece depicts the fleeting moments of connection that we can experience with the animal kingdom. When we come across an animal such as this buck there is often an initial moment of fear that often grows into a form of mutual respect and admiration. There is no need for conflict or fear, both are simply existing in each other’s space for a brief moment while time passes slower than usual. Stumbling across such a strong and beautiful animal can be incredibly humbling in a way that makes one think of the vast world that surrounds us and how we are but one life form amongst billions.

This beautiful moment of eye contact can allow us to step outside of ourselves and appreciate the amazing and diverse life forms that surround us.

5X5 Project with Abend Gallery

I’m really happy to announce that I will be participating in the 5x5 Project a show by Abend Gallery in Denver! This group show will only feature paintings that are 5”x5” but there will be plenty of them!

This show will run from June 26th to July 24th and will be available to view online as well as in person with reservations at the gallery. I will be showing three brand new paintings in this show so be sure to follow me on social media to get more frequent updates!

Use the button below to view the Abend Gallery website

 
 

My Newest Terra Human Painting!

I'm really proud to bring you my newest Terra Human painting "Flowers and Thorns"
This piece was a huge challenge but a joy to work on throughout! From beginning to end I was able to just let me eye for detail run wild and enjoy soaking up all of the colors, textures, twigs and flowers that this image had to offer. I'm really proud of what I was able to accomplish in this piece and I hope you enjoy it!

 
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Here is a full description of the piece!

✍🏻This piece is a tribute to my love for beauty, in all of its forms.Ever since I can remember, I have sought after beauty. Whether I was admiring a landscape, performing a dance, or painting a picture, my motive has always been to find things that are awe-inspiring and share them.
In a way I think that my search for beauty is my filter for the world and how I perceive it. As I’ve gotten older, I’m realizing that it is almost impossible to perceive something without any sort of bias and since childhood I have always perceived the world as inherently beautiful in its imperfection.
This brings me to the painting you see before you. For all of my life, I have had no issue with saying when I found someone attractive—no matter their gender. I wanted to paint this man because his face tells a story. I feel that his eyes seem to capture an interesting combination of sadness and optimism. He is intertwined with weeds, thorns, flowers, and grass to show that beauty can be found in unexpected places if you are prepared to look.
I believe that beauty can inspire good in the world and the more beauty we can learn to see the better our world will become.

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"Walking Giants" Full Process Video!

 I really hope you all enjoy this extensive process video showing how I created "Walking Giants." It not only takes a long time to complete a painting but it also takes plenty of additional time to create and edit a video showing how I made it. So I hope you enjoy watching this painting process and hopefully learn some things about my how I work and why I make certain decisions.
Personally it's almost therapeutic for me to look back on how I created a piece and record my thoughts in a video. I feel like I get to fully process the experience and share my insights with you!

This original piece is available for purchase directly from me! CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT IN MY SHOP!

"Hidden Meadow" | New Terra Human Painting!

Happy Friday everyone! I would like to introduce you to my newest Terra Human painting titled "Hidden Meadow"

I’ve spent this past month in quarantine painting this beauty! I’m not going to lie it was difficult at times to be working on such a daunting project while the there has been so much uncertainty in our world during this global pandemic. I definitely experienced days when I felt like it was all too much and I felt powerless and small. And something that brought me out of this darkness was knowing that small things done right really add up and I should focus on the things that were in my control. I could control how much time I painted/ worked and I could also control how much time I relaxed and took a moment for myself and my mental wellbeing. It has really been beneficial for me to look at my goals as marathons instead of sprints. I sometime's get so excited about the final result that I just want to run towards it as fast as I can, but I’ve learned that if I pace myself I will stay balanced and in control. Meaningful things take time and patience and that’s what I kept reminding myself while I was painting this piece.

So this painting is the result of over 50hours of patient work and planning. I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to read the description below.

 
 

This painting is about the places we go in times of distress in order to find peace and reassurance. These imaginary worlds can be made up of memories, images and emotions that bring us joy and comfort when we need it the most. We all have these types of locations in our memory and we retreat to them when the outside world can be too much for us to handle and we need to sit with our thoughts and emotions.

This painting illustrates what it looks like when we travel to this perfect spot in our mind, fall down into the soft trees and rest our eyes. Our bodies become one with our surroundings and the plants and animals grow and live in harmony with us without fear. We blend into the environment that we hold so dear to our heart and find a rejuvenated strength underneath the mountains. This strength allows us to stand back up despite the fear that is waiting for us on the other side and depart this comforting world with a level head and an accepting heart. 

I really hope you enjoy this new piece in my Terra Human series. This original painting is available for purchase! Click here if you would like to view this painting in my shop!

Terra Human | "Between Light and Shadow"

My newest Terra Human painting is finally done! After weeks of tweaking, reworking and obsessing over minute details she is finally done! I really hope you enjoy this piece and please read the full description!

 
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Process: I started this painting by using a grid on my reference image and then drawing the same grid onto my panel so I could accurately lay out my composition. After that I started to immediately paint the face because I knew it would take the longest and require the most accuracy. As you can see by the process images below I reworked the face several times and painted several layers in order to obtain the realism that I wanted.

As you can see in some of the later images, I experimented with many different abstractions in order to get the right look for the painting. There were several instances when I would paint a section like the window or her arm in a particular way and the next day I would changed it because I didn’t like how it looked. Overall I found this piece much more approachable by painting it in sections. I would mix up my color palette for a particular part of the piece and then only focus on that area for almost the whole day.

 
 

This original painting is available to purchase in my shop! CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT IN MY SHOP!

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Description: “Between Light and Shadow” The concept of this painting is strongly linked into the techniques I employed to create it. The biggest hurdle I needed to overcome in this particular piece was how to properly observe and render this figure which has so many complex and nuanced shadows. And when I identified this issue I couldn’t help but see the parallel to the shadows in our lives. It is no secret that many of us feel shaded by experiences in our lives that we just cannot seem to brighten. These experiences may even define us for a certain amount of time and control our behaviors because they affected us so deeply. I even felt this way when I started painting the figure’s face and couldn’t seem to see any end in sight. I felt a bit lost in these darker values and couldn’t see the distinct differences between colors. It seemed like colors and values were getting muddled in the shadows making me think there was no beginning or end to my brush strokes.
But as I progressed with this painting and persevered to give it a chance to develop I started to discover that with time and effort these shadows presented rare opportunities. I began to see the subtle colors that can be found in shadows because of reflected light. I started to understand that theses shadows created an amazing contrast that made the highlights even brighter. The figure I was painting was no longer defined by the shadows that used to haunt her rather now her character was enhanced and clarified by the this darkness. The shadows now seemed to server as a backdrop for all of the light that is embracing her.
We all experience shadowing in our lives but as we grow we learn to create our own definitions of ourselves and we can choose the path that allow us to see the most light.
Thank you for reading!

My Newest Terra Human Painting!

NEW TERRA HUMAN PIECE! After working on this piece for a few weeks I'm happy to say it is finally done! I really enjoyed playing with textures in this one and problem solving the composition. Here are the details and the description...
Title : Hidden Away | 12"x16" Available for $650 Framed

Click here to view this piece in my shop!

 
 

This piece deals with our reactions to stress and anxiety. The person in this piece has a tendency to respond to stresses in his life by pulling away and blending into his surroundings. He hopes that if he is invisible his problems won’t find him and he can take comfort by retreating into himself. As he blends further and further into the environments that surrounds him he starts to loose sight of his priorities and the traits that define him as a person.
By retreating like this he cuts himself off from others and the ways in which they can help him. In his brain he sees asking for help as a weakness and thinks his problems will only hurt the people closest to him. While he is pulling away from others his gaze narrows and he sees less and less of the big picture and only focuses on himself and the fact that he is stuck.
There are not right or wrong ways to deal with stress in our lives but the more we can let people into our realities they better they will understand us and how we process our issues.