The state of art just now In our post-modern world, there are either too many definitions or a lack of definitions. My art is an extension of me, not a response to art critics or to trends with which I have no personal connection. I don’t have strict expectations of my potential audience; I don’t wish to preempt people’s reactions. Responses to my art always surprise me. Painting large canvases Painting is an emotive process for me. The larger the canvas, the more passion, fervor, movement, and expression. It allows me freedom. Additionally, painting on large surfaces forces me to use more than the brush and the left half of my brain. It involves using my whole body, starting from the gut and terminating with the arm holding the brush. Basically, large canvases serve as the best mirror for me. Historical I am sensible enough to know that my art probably will not change contemporary circumstances for the better. But I don’t necessarily see change as its purpose—ultimately; I feel it would reduce my work. If just one person is affected by my work that could catalyze a positive chain reaction, perhaps extending beyond that person’s life. Eventually, that chain may reach the more global aspects of our situation. Everything starts like that. Inspiration I paint from my internal struggle with my own circumstances. It is an unconscious response that bleeds onto my canvases. Allowing me to be more open and less fearful. I am always in the process of refining my style. I look within and await the “accident” that eventually reveals itself. Although waiting for it is difficult and time-consuming, I can never predict when it will unveil. I use what I have been taught and have since observed. I find inspiration in any moment and from any person I pass on the street. In other words, creative colleagues are not my only influences. Place and people—friends and strangers alike—inspire me, and much of it shows up in my work. To limit myself to the narrow hierarchy of art is to limit art itself. “Expressions bare secrets” Expressions form gateways to people’s thoughts, so that’s the simple answer. Specific to my art though, facial expressions have always enthralled me and I try to paint them with that sense of mystery in mind. Bare, as in nude, not bear as in carry. I choose that homonym to provoke the viewer to question his/her own reality and bare all. I keep the aim of my work a secret, frankly because often the process is a mystery to me until it appears on the canvas. Why nudes Is there nothing more sublime than the human form?