(object swooshes) - I think as an artist, I'm in my big era 'cause every idea that I have for a painting, I want it to be 10 feet wide, six feet tall.

I think the idea is communicated stronger when the scale is larger.

The bigger I can go, (stick tapping) the more correct the message will be received.

(bright electronic music) (bright electronic music continues) I think when people look at my work, the first thing that they notice is the nature and the animal themes.

But on a deeper level, it's more about the shared human experiences of grief and love and courage.

I like to think that there's more to our existence, and then I like to play on that.

The more bold you are, and the more fearless you are, the more of an impact that you make among the community and just culture in general.

(gentle upbeat music) (gentle upbeat music continues) (gentle upbeat music continues) (page swooshes) Every painting has a different approach.

When they're my personal pieces, typically I have an idea, and the ideas live for a long time before I create them.

I have notebooks full of concepts, sketches, and my sketches pivot year to year, and that's how I know I have a good idea that I really want to bring to life because I will have an idea that then has sort of morphed.

Every time I've sketched it out, the figures change spaces.

The composition changes ever so slightly.

Eventually I get to a point where I just know (snaps) that's it.

(bag crinkling) I start with a foil, a gold leaf or a silver leaf.

The idea is that when you are on a screen, your screen is backlit.

Whether it's an iPad, a computer, your phone, it's backlit.

So when I use a foil behind the piece as the base, it actually kind of gives it a glow from the back, and so they really thrive in direct light because it has this, like, aura to it.

This is my all-time favorite piece that I've ever made in my entire career, which is why it lives here.

So it's called "Through Hell and Never Back," and it depicts a hallway on fire, and it's meant to feel like you've made it out of a really hard time.

So the blue in the center is meant to feel very promising, like you made it.

So some of the details in this piece are, I have a gargoyle over here.

So gargoyles are good guys.

Gargoyles, they actually protect you from evil, and so even though the gargoyle looks really scary, he's meant to look scary because that's how they scare off the bad.

Up here, this is my... This, these are the wings, and then that's like a bird face, and it's sort of like a phoenix.

But it's also meant to look almost like a bird or a spirit guide of sorts.

And again, that's a positive entity.

So those two are your teammates.

And then there's... Up here, this is like a skull face, and it kind of looks like it's coming in hot like he's flying in, and that's the evil entity.

And then there's all these knives coming in.

As if the hallway on fire wasn't enough, now there's knives coming out, and it's truly this obstacle course of evil.

(gentle electronic music) I've always loved shiny things, and so when it comes to my artwork, putting that coating on it, it makes the colors look wet, similar to like when you have a rock, and it's underwater, versus when it's dry.

Paint and pigments look different when they are wet versus when they're dry, and that resin makes it permanently wet-looking.

(gentle electronic music continues) I became the artist in residence at Ascent December 1st of 2024.

And then they just recently extended my contract for another year, so I'll be there now throughout 2026.

When you're up on the top floor, and you're walking around, you know, you have this view of the city that you love.

It's just like, how can you not be inspired, and how can you not just love spending your time there?

I come here, and I get to work.

And I go over there, and I get to really like sit and relax and think.

(gentle electronic music continues) One of the best parts of being an artist in residence at Ascent is being able to use the 25th floor as a gallery space.

You know, I'm very particular with where I put my paintings up there, so I know the south-facing side is going to receive the most sunlight.

So, which piece should be south-facing?

Which one needs the most light all day long?

And then there's a little corridor that doesn't really have windows nearby.

I actually put my favorite piece back there in that little corner to really give it life because typically that wall space would be the forgotten wall, you know, the wall that people don't care about, and I put my favorite piece back there.

It's really about like bringing life into spaces up there that maybe didn't have it exactly, and it's the harmonization of artwork complementing architecture and architecture complementing artwork.

- [Announcer] Thanks for watching "The Arts Page."

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