I am an abstract painter and mixed media artist based in Chicago, born in 1978 in nearby Morris, IL. I have practiced and exhibited art since age 8. I received my BFA in painting, printmaking and drawing from Millikin University in 2000, focusing my work there on gestural abstraction and process-driven experimentation.

I have exhibited throughout Chicago, including Judy A Saslow Gallery and Ai Gallery in 2006 and The Artist Project (concurrent with Art Chicago) and Polvo in early 2007. I was awarded a CAAP grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs in 2006 and 2008, and was featured on the cover of the 2007 CAAP application booklet.

I have hosted, curated and coordinated group exhibitions and open studio events. I belong to local artists' groups Parts and Labor Collective, Infidel Group and ARTbitch. I sit on the Programming Committee for the Chicago Artists Coalition and act as Curator for the Bloomingdale Mural Project. In October of 2007, I completed my first public mural in my own West Bucktown neighborhood.

I create abstract paintings that explore color relationships and textural varieties through a materials focused approach, layering a variety of mediums and materials onto canvas and wood in a collagist fashion.

Although my primary medium is acrylic, I also use latex, spray enamel, gouache and other paint products, along with a variety of acrylic mediums and mark-making tools such as pastels, markers, pencils and charcoal. I cultivate texture through both reductive and additive techniques, carving into wood and paint, and adding paper, fabric, wood, plastic and other collage elements to the surface.

I do not plan compositions, but rather select materials based on color or shape and apply them one after another to several works-in-progress in succession, allowing the progress of each piece dictate my decision making. This spontaneous and intuitive process results in layered, dimensional abstract paintings with exuberant colors, varied surfaces and playful personalities, in a recognizable style punctuated by rounded shapes, crisp lines and structural division of space.

My work is influenced by flashes of visual detail, both imagined and real, that I have observed and retained throughout my life, as well as by contemporary abstract art dating from the past hundred or so years. I aim to create work that relates to modern and contemporary art historical themes and evokes a sense of familiarity, but exudes undeniable uniqueness.