Connect What is your favorite type of art to create?

I find joy in creating any type of painting, in a variety of subjects and styles. but my favorite subject is flowers since they offer an endless vocabulary of form, color and mood. A single bloom can elevate a whole room. Flowers can live in both the natural world and the designed one as it can be woven into fashion, décor and landscape. I design my “Signature Florals” not as mere botanical forms, but to enhance your environment and ultimately make you smile.

Where do you find inspiration?

Inspiration can be extracted from anywhere: A single pink rose petal fallen onto a footprint in the muddy soil. The abstraction you can see when zooming into the wrinkled creases of Mona Lisa’s sleeve. The reflection of a lemon on it’s own shadow cast onto a polished piece of marble. The wavy pattern the wind forms on weeds swaying in a drainage ditch. The glow of peach fuzz backlit on the edge of a cheek. The cast shadow of an unseen object. The way light bursts out from behind a cloud.

What would you do with $25,000?

I live in a rural area with little opportunity for the community to experience original art. If I were fortunate enough to win $25,000, I would use it to expand my studio into a little gallery in the countryside to allow talented local artists to share their passions with budding art lovers. I especially enjoy how eager teens are about art when exposed to it in my studio and discover a rare joy that can actually pull them away from constant social media.