I remain as passionate about graffiti art as when I was a teen spray-painting under Northern California bridges in the 1980s. On brisk nights, I learned to paint by value rather than color, eagerly anticipating viewing my work at daybreak if my piece wasn’t painted over by a rival.

Painting allows me an ongoing discovery of myself and my relationship with the imagery I create. I empathize and seek to identify with the subject. I search for the story, the struggles, the conflicts, the breakthroughs and the victories. I seek to express the best in even the worst of us and discover what can be learned, what can be overcome. Ultimately, I want to discover ways of creating the most powerful impact.

Love fascinates me. I explore its many facets, incorporating movement through elements of vibrant, bold, arrestive pop imagery. I share love through my art, receiving so much more of it myself. I live my dream of painting love across the world, one painting at a time.

My process involves deep layering of color, textures, imagery, typography, and often natural elements. I may select a painting surface, like wood, for a subject and allow elements of that surface to show through. I connect with the deep, raw life experiences of my subject as I use knives to scratch into the surface of each portrait, creating depth. This symbolizes the many layers of the human condition and the experiences that influence who we are and who we are becoming. My airbrush enables me to stay connected to my aerosol roots. I like to use unrelated elements, manipulating them into conformity. As each piece unfolds, I experience a sense of actualization, order, and inner harmony.

I had just gone through a very difficult divorce, and was a new single mom who could barely put one foot in front of the other due to the heavy weight of my situation. It was during this time that I created this painting, entitled, "Princess Warrior". Each morning as I drove my very young daughters to public school, I would have them recite Ephesians 6:10-20, and we would pray for God to place the full armor of God upon them before they stepped out onto the battlefield. This piece was created as a prayer for them; a visual reminder that true beauty comes from being armed and equipped with the power of God, and that only God can enable them to boldly and courageously defend what is good, beautiful, and true in this dark world through their deep faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ, and by the filling of the Holy Spirit. The idea was that they would, by God’s grace, appropriate and apply these Biblical ideals as they grew in a faith that I knew I would very soon have to hand off.

My daughters are such an incredible reminder of the goodness of God, because after I had an abortion as a young adult (insisted upon by a close family member), and later having had 5 miscarriages, they are living proof of God’s miraculous powers that are still alive and active today. My greatest prayer is that they would grow up with an unwavering faith knowing how loved they are by God, and live their lives offensively equipped with His full armor to defend their faith, daily.

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