>> AS A PAINTER, I'M INTERESTED WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE SPACES AROUND US AND OUR IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS, HOW WE RELATE AND INTERACT WITH PLACES THAT ARE FAMILIAR TO US.

SO A LOT OF MY WORK, FOR SEVERAL YEARS, HAS BEEN, REALLY, ABOUT THESE AREAS THAT ARE QUITE EMPTY OR QUIET.

THINGS YOU MIGHT EASILY PASS BY THAT DON'T RECEIVE A LOT OF ATTENTION, BUT I FIND THOSE TO BE AREAS THAT ARE QUITE PEACEFUL AND PLACES FOR INTROSPECTION.

BEING IN THOSE PLACES ALLOWS FOR CAREFUL ATTENTION, NOTICING AND JUST THE ACT OF SEEING AND LOOKING AND USING IMAGINATION TO THINK OF MAYBE A DIFFERENT FUTURE FOR THAT SPACE OR IMAGINE THE HISTORY OF A SPACE.

>> MY PROCESS USUALLY INVOLVES, FIRST, JUST EXPERIENCING A PLACE OR A SPACE I AM INTERESTED IN OR THAT IS FAMILIAR TO ME.

REALLY, IF I JUST SEE SOMETHING THAT I AM CURIOUS ABOUT OR STUMBLE UPON SOMETHING THAT MAYBE I HAVEN'T NOTICED BEFORE IN A PLACE I HAVE BEEN MANY TIMES, THAT ACT OF NOTICING IS INTRIGUING TO ME.

SO I AM USUALLY COMPELLED TO EITHER JUST TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH, A VIDEO, DO A DRAWING.

A LOT OF TIMES, AN IMAGE WILL STRIKE ME AS JUST SEEING SOMETHING AND THINKING, I WANT TO PAINT THAT.

SO IT KIND OF EVOLVES FROM THERE.

I HAVE ALWAYS JUST LOVED DRAWING.

DRAWING FEELS LIKE MY FIRST LANGUAGE, RATHER THAN EVEN SPEAKING OR, UM, WRITING.

I DO A LOT ON SITE AND A LOT OF TIMES I'LL COME BACK TO THE STUDIO AND KIND OF PIECE TOGETHER IMAGES OR MEMORY OR THOSE SKETCHES OR THOUGHTS THAT I HAD, LIKE, COMBINING ALL THESE FRAGMENTS TO KIND OF COLLAGE TOGETHER MORE OF A UNIFIED PIECE.

>> A LOT OF THE AREAS I PAINT OR THE IMAGES THAT I AM INTERESTED IN FEEL SILENT.

AND THEY FEEL STILL.

I WANT THAT SENSATION TO PULL THE VIEWER IN AND BE MORE INTROSPECTIVE OF THEIR OWN INTERPRETATION OF MAYBE THEIR OWN SURROUNDINGS OR THEIR EXPERIENCE OF THE WORK THAT IS PRESENT IN FRONT OF THEM.

IN A LOT OF THE IMAGES ARE EITHER OBSCURED OR KIND OF AMBIGUOUS SO THERE IS THIS UNDERLYING FAMILIARITY THAT I THINK IS NICE FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO RELATE TO.

>> SOME OF THE PUBLIC ART PROJECTS THAT I'VE DONE IN THE PAST HAVE BEEN THE RESULT OF MORE OF A COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY EFFORT WITH ORGANIZATIONS OR PARTNERS HERE IN SPRINGFIELD.

I DO LIKE BEING PART OF A LARGER PROJECT THAT IS NOT JUST MY ARTISTIC VISION.

IT'S A GROUP EFFORT.

THAT WAY IT IS MORE REPRESENTATIVE AS US AS A COMMUNITY RATHER OF JUST AN INDIVIDUAL AS AN ARTIST.

>> REALLY, I FIND INSPIRATION FROM JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING.

I KNOW THAT IS SUCH A BROAD ANSWER BUT I TRULY BELIEVE THERE IS NOTHING THAT IS BORING.

AND NO MATTER WHAT SMALL DETAIL YOU HAPPEN TO COME ACROSS, YOU CAN DRILL DOWN INTO KIND OF THE INERT ENERGY OF WHATEVER THAT THING IS.

FOR INSPIRATION, I MEAN, A VACANT PARKING LOT, I FOCUSED ON PAINTING VACANT PARKING LOTS FOR A VERY LONG TIME OR JUST SOMETHING I SEE WHEN I AM WALKING TO MY STUDIO.

I THINK THE ART-MAKING PROCESS, FOR ME, IS QUITE ANALOGOUS ALSO TO LIKE A MEDITATION PRACTICE.

AND IN THAT SENSE, ART-MAKING IS A WAY OF THINKING, A WAY OF JUST BEING AND EXPERIENCING THE WORLD AROUND US.

I THINK EVEN JUST VIEWING ART, APPRECIATING IT, IS SIMILAR IN THAT WAY, THAT YOU ARE CREATING MEANING, YOU'RE MAKING INTERPRETATIONS THAT CONNECT TO YOUR LIVED EXPERIENCE.

I DON'T HAVE EVERYTHING FIGURED OUT AT THE BEGINNING.

I ALMOST NEVER DO.

>> RIGHT NOW THAT I AM IN GRADUATE SCHOOL, I WORK WITH A LOT OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS.

AND ONE THING I SEE, UM, FOR A YOUNGER GENERATION OF ARTISTS THAT I THINK WILL BE HELPFUL IS JUST THE UNDERSTANDING THAT IT IS A PRACTICE.

IT'S NOT KIND OF A FINISH LINE THAT YOU GET TO.

IT'S AN ONGOING PROCESS.

IT'S A --IT'S KIND OF A LIFESTYLE, IT'S A WAY OF THINKING, IT'S A WAY OF JUST BEING IN THE WORLD.