The starting point and emphasis for my work is about communication and putting forth or proposing an idea. Oftentimes, I construct a framework that comes from a historical, mythological, art-historical, or literary narrative. I try and take these narratives and present them in a way that reflects and makes sense of the current cultural, and societal environment. My pieces normally include an unexpected or unnatural juxtaposition of objects and figures in scenes, such as people being taken from different time frames or places to build modern narratives. My goal in this is not to create a very specific or succinct format of reading the painting but to allow the viewer a multitude of entry points regardless of their familiarity with some of the imagery. This is accomplished by using techniques that I feel complement the content I am working with. Often, I feel the success of my pieces comes from the image having a mimetic quality. However, this doesn’t require the objects and compositional structure to always align with how we see these components in reality. Some especially influential artists whom I look to in this regard include Edward Hopper, Max Ernst, Edgar Degas, and Paula Rego. These artists combine technical accuracy with creativity, referencing, interpreting, and exploring a vast social and environmental context. Within an art historical context, I feel my artwork aligns with metaphysical art in the way that it combines common objects from everyday life in unordinary contexts. I also strive to create situations that question the viewers' idea of space and combine different moments in time. Frequently, the themes that I address focus on identity, power struggles, gender roles, and political and psychological tensions.