I paint what’s already here, but too often missed. The birds and animals I portray live among us, but we rarely stop long enough to really see them. You shouldn’t need binoculars, a plane ticket, or expensive equipment to witness beauty in the wild—it’s right outside our doors. My hope is to bring these creatures closer, to help others see beings they may never have noticed before. I want this beauty to belong to everyone—people in cities, little kids, people of every color and walk of life. I hope to create an experience through my work—a quiet moment of connection with something wild and real.
To me, they are not just subjects. They are real, feeling creatures—curious, proud, cautious, bold. They are intelligent. They are funny. They are sometimes awkward, sometimes fierce. And they matter. I paint them because I love them, and I want others to love them too.
I know my work isn’t avant-garde. It doesn’t start trends or seek spectacle. But I believe there is gravity in simplicity—in honest observation, and in reverence. We don’t protect what we don’t see. But once we truly see—once we recognize something of ourselves in another form—we can’t help but care. That’s why I paint.
