The colors in your work are bold and striking. What draws you to those tones, and how do you think they shape the mood or energy of your paintings?
I have always been drawn to bright colors, especially pinks and purples. I love how they emphasize the deep reds and golden tones found in skin. I think a lot about contrast — how the brightness of a color can actually reinforce a quiet or somber mood by highlighting its opposite.
The painting we’re showing in our current exhibition, Don’t You Worry About the Distance We’re Never Far Apart (My Fallen Angel), is a close-up portrait of a woman. Beyond the surface, what hidden layers or inner worlds were you trying to capture in this work?
This painting comes from a series I did called When There’s Nothing I Can Do: I Go to My Heart, where I was looking at the ways people move forward when they feel hopeless — especially when the challenges they face seem overwhelming. In this portrait, the half-smile and slightly concerned expression capture that fragile moment of wondering if things will be okay.
Your paintings often feel like they come out of real, everyday moments, yet they also carry a sense of mystery. How do you think about weaving together the familiar and the unknown when you begin a new work?
When I start a painting, I never really know where I’m going. I’m very interested in storytelling, and for me painting has always been about connecting with others. I usually begin with a question I don’t yet have an answer to — and I think that’s where the mystery enters. We all go through different experiences, and when we bring those experiences to an image or a poem, something new happens. You look at a painting, read its title, and together they spark a feeling that’s more layered than either could be on its own.