About the Artist

Like most, I learned to draw before I learned how to write.  The ability to create and reshape reality, take abstractions from my head and put them down on paper, form expressions that others could read and interpret was intoxicating.  It is a form of visual language that I find empowering and comes as naturally to me as breathing.

Whether it is a block print or a painting, my process always starts the same.  I begin with a sketch and toss around rough ideas on paper before honing in on what I want to portray.  There will be many sketchbooks and drafts that will live on after I am gone.  Though I love watercolor, gouache, oil, and other mixed medias, I have come to love printmaking processes and have a particular affection for relief printmaking.  I learned intaglio, lithography, screenprinting, and other techniques at the Corcoran College of Art and Design where I earned a BFA degree with a concentration in printmaking.   I practice a form of Japanese woodblock printing known as Moku Hanga and am in possession of two antique letterpress printing presses (pictured above).  They are currently housed at the Virginia Arts of the Book Center in an environment friendly to others who practice the “Black Arts.”  I am a resident artist there and enjoy using their old treadle Chandler & Price (pictured below).

I am currently in the design stages of a new body of work.  Stewardship of the land and pride in one’s heritage has always been valued in my family.  I am creating a series of prints that will reflect the beauty of the flora and fauna of my indigenous Nelson County so others may also see how peerless even the imperfections of nature are.