Connect What is your favorite type of art to create?

I love to hike the Santa Monica Canyons near my home. I photograph many of my journeys, the landscapes, the plants, animals, the skies. I love to sit with these photos and take my time observing the details and decide what parts speak to me the most. I then dive into the canvas, the oils, the lights, darks, colors and pour my heart and soul into capturing the experience to share with others. It is very meditative and fulfilling for me.

Where do you find inspiration?

I live in a canyon near the ocean in Los Angeles. Everything I see, hear, touch, taste and smell in nature or in the streets, inspires me. Human nature inspires me. Living in a multi-cultural city keeps me connected and grounded. Life is an incredible adventure, which we are all leaving an imprint. As an artist, I feel compelled to tell the story through my personal viewpoint. I believe we artists are also historians. What we capture and create today will be very different in the future.

What would you do with $25,000?

I would invest $25,000 into creating a local artists collective here in Topanga Canyon, California. We have a lot of wonderful artists here and we do not have a gallery anymore. Therefore artists are rarely represented. Our canyon is precious, but, we face fire danger all year round. This makes it hard for us to spotlight the immense creativity that exists here.