I Will Not Fear

I Will Not Fear is a series of paintings about fear. Fear of everything to come and fear of the nothingness that follows. Fear, that which resides in every person until we’re gone and all that is left behind are the impressions we left upon the world. We fear what those impressions might be, and we fear that we cannot change them. My world was built upon fear of what’s to come. Who I am is influenced by fear and the whole mess of feelings that go along with it. So why reject it? If fear is always going to be around me, then the best thing to do is to accept it. Feel it. Laugh at it! Let fear push me to do the things I only dream of doing. I make colorful and playful paintings that represent dark feelings of anxiety, fear and depression that I’ve struggled with for as long as I remember. Brightly colored and highly technical, my paintings entice you to keep looking, making sure you do not stray away from these difficult topics. By using mixed media in conjunction with oil paint, I inject the work with humor and reflections on tragedy and fear. In addition to oil paint, I use pins, balloons, flags, tape, zippers, medical gauze, glass, belts and bubble gum to make what appear to be paintings that respect the tradition of a rectangle on the wall. In the end, the very act of creating these artworks makes me laugh and reconsider my relationships to the fearful subjects that plagued me while welcoming you to view them and laugh along with me.