I’m compelled to create layered, mixed-media work, combining original illustration, line art, and acrylic with hand-cut fragments of vintage imagery. Through curating and juxtaposing cultural icons, I bridge generations using visual storytelling that carries music, film, memory, and moments in time forward. Incorporating organic, found, and tactile elements, and often finished with resin, each piece becomes a time capsule of meaning, honoring influence, legacy, and the stories that shaped us.

My work is shaped by artists like Chagall, Basquiat, and Jim Morrison, voices that reshaped culture, often before the world caught up to them. I’m drawn to how their work endures across generations, and it pushes me to keep evolving. Through dense layering, I build pieces that hold attention, revealing more with each pass. That process translates past voices into present experience, keeping their energy, influence, and meaning alive for new audiences.

I would use the visibility and opportunity to take a body of work I've spent decades building and put it into the world without hesitation. I've reached a point where my layered approach and creative system feel true to me. Should I win, I intend to donate the entire $25,000 award to further The Art of Elysium's mission.