My paintings explore the relationship between memory, identity, and the natural world. Drawing from a life shaped by both Kentucky and Costa Rica, I construct luminous, sometimes fantastical environments in which animals, plants, and landscapes become subjects of allegory. Through these images, I consider how perceptions of beauty, belonging, and otherness are shaped by the experiences and cultural histories we bring to what we see.

I grew up between two places with profoundly different landscapes and cultural traditions. In Kentucky, generations of my mother's family have lived among the creeks, forests, and agricultural landscapes of the Bluegrass region. My father's family comes from southern Costa Rica, where tropical forests and extraordinary biodiversity formed an equally significant part of my childhood. Neither landscape exists separately in my imagination. Their colors, atmospheres, histories, and visual languages continually inform one another, creating a sense of place that belongs entirely to neither.

Animals frequently occupy the center of my compositions. I am drawn to their capacity to communicate vulnerability, power, tenderness, and uncertainty without relying on human expression. Their relationships with one another and their environments offer possibilities for exploring questions of dependence, difference, and belonging.

I combine traditional oil painting techniques with saturated color, intricate detail, and dramatic light. My approach draws on the visual richness of historical painting while embracing the imaginative possibilities of contemporary realism. I am interested in the tension between convincing naturalistic representation and environments that feel heightened, mysterious, or remembered rather than directly observed.