ABOUT
photograph by Magnolia Design Studio
In my new body of work, I’m creating pieces inspired by songs or specific lines from songs, interpreting with color the ways they make me feel, and exploring the lyrics or sentiments within the music that shares a story or perspective.
The complex lives of professional entertainers and style-makers have always fascinated me. In my work, I attempt to capture my subjects' humanity in their intimate moments, and also explore the ways they transform and express themselves creatively. I grew up on Madonna, movies, MTV, and Vogue magazine, and have always been enamored by both the on-stage magic and the behind-the-scenes, transfixed by the idea that anyone can create a persona and perform for an audience—seemingly becoming a different person—and then wipe it all away, remove their costume, and live as a regular, anonymous citizen in the comfort (or messiness) of their own life in such a separate and removed way. I think this duality of life speaks to all of us on some level.
I'm a Contemporary Realist artist , often exploring different mediums, though I work mainly in oils and pencil. I chased the elusive mastery of my artistic abilities from the time I was a young child until I completed high school, putting it aside for twenty-three years after a decision to pursue Graphic Design and writing. I was gifted my grandfather’s paints and brushes in 2018 and began the chase again.
I'm highly influenced by the various moods, textures, and themes conjured by stories, music, and fashion, as well as by historical masters like Rembrandt, DaVinci, Vermeer, and The Wyeths, and by contemporary masters like Bo Bartlett, Kehinde Wiley, Mark Pugh, and Margaret Bowland.
EXHIBITIONS
2025
SHO Yourself, SHO Art, Spirit & Performance, Windsor, Ontario
2024
Love, 33PA/33 Contemporary, virtual show
Paint Ontario 2024, Grand Bend Art Centre, Grand Bend, Ontario
Variations Through Colour Artist Exhibition, Windsor Symphony Orchestra (WSO), Windsor, Ontario
My Funny Valentine, 33PA/33 Contemporary, virtual show
2023
2023 Square Foot Show, Westland Gallery, London, Ontario
Mujer, 33 Contemporary, virtual show
2022
2022 Square Foot Show, Westland Gallery, London, Ontario
Out of the Shadows, On to the Streets, Art Windsor-Essex (AWE), Windsor, Ontario
I Am Here: Home Movies & Everyday Masterpieces, Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), Toronto, Ontario
She Is, Art of Emotions Fine Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
The Black + White Gala, Fernweh Events, Windsor, Ontario
Mujer, 33 Contemporary, virtual show
2021
Postcards for the Holidays, 33 Contemporary, virtual show
2021 Square Foot Show, Westland Gallery, London, Ontario
Pride & Joy, Art Gallery of Windsor (AGW), Windsor, Ontario
Portraits of Resilience, Art Gallery of Ontario, virtual show
Thirty Six by Forty Eight Show, Nancy Johns Gallery, Windsor, Ontario
*QUEEN FOR A DAY, Windsor, Ontario, SOLO SHOW
Summer Heat Annual Exhibition, ACWR, virtual show
Music/Man, 33 Contemporary, virtual show
International Women's Day Postcard Pop UP Show, 33 Contemporary, virtual show
2020
Good Things Come In Small Packages, 33 Contemporary, virtual show
2020 Square Foot Show, Westland Gallery, London, Ontario
147th Annual Open Juried Art Exhibition, Ontario Society of Artists (OSA), virtual show
The Poppy Art Campaign, The Art Incubator & Coulter's, Windsor, Ontario
Thirty x Forty Show, Nancy Johns Gallery, Windsor, Ontario
Art & Chill: Quarantine Exhibition, Nancy Johns Gallery, virtual show
2019
Conceal/Reveal, Nancy Johns Gallery, Windsor, Ontario
Twenty x Thirty Show, Nancy Johns Gallery, Windsor, Ontario
Publications
#hashtag Art Magazine/33PA, "Love" feature, Summer 2024
Poets Artists, "Mujer" exhibition catalog, March 2023
CBC, "New exhibit aims to make the history of Windsor's LGBTQ community visible" news article, August 2022
Windsor Star, "Museum shines spotlight on 180 years of Windsor-Essex LGBTQ history" news article, August 2022
Poets Artists, "Mujer" exhibition catalog, March 2022
#hashtag Art Magazine/33PA, "Sex, Drugs & Rock n' Roll" feature, May 2021
#hashtag Art Magazine/33PA, "Music/Man" feature, March 2021
Poets Artists, "Music/Man" exhibition catalog, March 2021
Collections
Museum Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, CANADA
Dr. Samuel Peralta Collection, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
Grants & Prizes
Arts, Culture & Heritage Fund Grant, 2021, Windsor, Ontario
Windsor Endowment for the Arts Grant, 2020, Windsor, Ontario