My artwork does not present the picturesque, but the ugly socioeconomic underbelly of our culture, places that most eschew, encampments of the unhoused. The residents of the encampments that I paint are often curious and ask me about what I am doing. In this way my work opens up intimate interactions with a population that is socially maligned. I volunteer with service organizations to strengthen my connections in the community that I paint.
My work is deeply personal, originating from my experience of surviving housing insecurity after college and working for years amid the misery of unhoused masses in Los Angeles’s Skid Row. I understand that most are one tragedy away from living on the streets. The current governmental trend of criminalization of the unhoused, along with the rapid rise of housing costs, pushing friends and family to our budget brink, highlights the timely significance of my work.
My work is not a capitalistic artifact, but an attack on the epidemic of homelessness and poverty. These paintings are a manifestation of my principles, energy and commitment, rooted in my own experience. They are an affirmation of my beliefs in socioeconomic justice and the human right to healthy housing.