Open gallery
I am inspired by the raw energy and power of expression as a relationship of the aesthetics of graffiti. When I begin a painting, as when a graffiti artist approaches his or her chosen surface, there is an anxiety that comes from not knowing where to begin. While I cannot achieve the same apprehensions and concerns as a graffiti artist in the shadows, I feel a similar dilemma in simply allowing my underlying ideas of graffiti to drive my creation. My concern is not speed, but rather the dialogue between the subjects and colors in a single painting. Each of my paintings is a personal learning process and experience in which I must abandon ideas that I gathered before I added paint to the surface.
I paint on loose, delicate, semi-transparent surfaces with common tools used by graffiti artists as an attempt to capture the energy and dialogue in a studio setting. These surfaces aid in the inevitable complications that further advance the processes I use to complete these paintings. The paint that comes from the brush can sometimes be unpredictable, and drips and runs through the folds of the painting surface, sometimes pooling in unexpected areas. Some control can be achieved with the use of spray paint, as it can cover large or small areas with little regard to the protrusions and creases of the painting surface, similar to the aspects faced by artists on the streets.