1. How did you get start painting? Did you go to school for it?
I think I first began painting in early high school. My mother was and is a painter so she definitely encouraged me to pursue it. By the end of high school, I started taking college level painting classes at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, and at that point, I knew I wanted to be an artist. Soon I had moved to San Francisco and begun attending the Academy of Art University. I've been attending AAU since 2004, and will graduate with a BFA in painting in December.

2. When you set the mood or tone of a painting, what do you rely on in the first sketches?
My sketch process, when it is the precursor or study to a painting, is actually very limited. My sketches are very fast, rough, and loose. I mainly use them to determine composition, use of negative and positive space, flow, and ratios. Of course when I simply sketch for the sake of sketching, I have fun with it and will get more detailed.

3. What was the inspiration for "The Old Scars" series?
"The Old Scars" is a conceptual series. The defining aspect of the whole series is the "scar" or "wound" that all of the women have on their shoulders. This "scar" is not an actual physical wound, but more of a representational symbol, symbolizing each person's past experiences, memories, emotions, and in essence their soul. The scar is also not necessarily solely representational of only traumatic memories, but more of all things that make them who they are.

4. Your paintings have a feeling of controlled chaos and excellent use of negative space. How do you wrangle paint into these beautiful, flowing images?
I can't begin to explain how fun it is to paint these! I really let loose in the beginning of my painting process, combining loose charcoal pencil work with expressive paint work in the beginning. I use lots of washes and tons of solvent at first, and gradually thicken my paint and bring more and more control and care to the brush strokes as the painting progresses. In essence, I am creating chaos in the work, and gradually pulling my figures into order out of the depths, strategically juxtaposing order and chaos.

5. Can you describe your creative process?
I wish I could say I had a more straight forward creative process, but I really just immediately start working when an idea hits me. Sometimes I can make decent paintings just from sitting down and telling myself to start working, but more often than not, when I force myself, I am unhappy with the results. My best works have come out of nowhere when I have a strong idea, and so I am able to really paint with conviction and confidence.

6. Do you paint from models?
Yes, I learned to paint figure from live models, and I still work from life often, but not exclusively. I think I work evenly from three sources: life, photographic reference, and making up people out of my head. The task is making it so the three sources are indiscernible. The benefit of this is when one or two sources are unavailable at the time, I can almost always resort to the remaining one.

7. To borrow a couple of words from your own statement, your work has a sense of dark elegance, dripping with sensuality and anonymity. How do you evoke this?
I think I incorporate these themes into my work in a number of ways. Some are more conceptual, and others more physically visible in the actual painting. I like my work to have a sensuous and luxurious feeling, in the application of the paint, both delicately and chaotically, and conceptually, the work has curious elements of anonymity. Many of the women look very similar, and often have no eyes, or their eyes are covered. This strips them of their personality and humanity, leaving their soul to only be defined in the painting by their scar.

8. Your silkscreen work is also very layered and abstracted. Do you add more layers with paint once the screening is done? Shed some light on them.
Silkscreening is something I unexpectedly fell in love with, having decided to take the class on a whim, and then later taking the advanced class. My process is very non-traditional with silkscreen. I use the medium more like painting, working very loosely and instinctually, rather than the careful controlled planning process of traditional silkscreen work. I actually 'paint' ink directly onto acetates, referring only to the previous layer and a master sketch for planning. Once again, the process is generally about creating chaos, and gradually pulling order and definition into it, through more and more layers. In regards to the addition of paint, It is something I have never done, only because I want to preserve the sanctity of the editions.

9. How can people purchase your work?
When I don't currently have a gallery show running, purchasing inquiries can be directed to me through my website. I sell both original paintings and silkscreens, generally through PayPal. I also offer giclee prints of certain pieces that have been sold on the website www.Etsy.com.

10. What do you like or dislike about the online art community? What brought you to Phirebrush?
I love immersing myself in the online art communities, through various websites and forums, to experience new art and ideas. The internet is an extremely valuable tool to a contemporary artist, for both exposure, and making connections. Even sites like MySpace are amazing tools to network in the art world. I was attracted to Phirebrush because I browsed around a few times and was consistently impressed with the level of quality exhibited, not only by the artists and their work, but of the clean, professional work of the website.