“My goal in painting is to portray the normal as abnormal,
the usual as unusual and the plain as plainly insane.”
“I don’t do drugs. I am drugs.”
Salvador Dali
My painting explores the expressive and connotative power of several combined forces: Surrealism, Photo Realism, Religious Symbolism, Graphic Design and Tattoo Art. This current suite of works relates to contemporary issues of self discovery, self expression, identity and freedom of speech. The juxtaposed and unusual imagery originates from earlier collages I have made created out of National Geographic cut-outs. Retro matchbox labels, early Soviet propaganda posters and other pre-digital posters from Eastern Europe are further cultural sources I use for their graphic power. These resources are referred to directly as I paint as I aim to recreate the details of the source images with an interest in optimal precision.
