Bio
I was born (1974) and raised in Houston, TX. Growing up, I participated in sports, and enjoyed working on “creative projects”. These projects were a creative outlet for me and would eventually be connected to my studio practice. I attended The University of Texas at Austin from 1993 – 1998. On a leave from school, I worked at the Museum of Fine Arts. The exposure to various forms of art led me to experiment with painting. Here, I began to appreciate the importance of observation and feeding my curiosity. I guided myself through early paintings, relying mostly on my imagination. Movies, music, and magazines were some of my first influences. An image of Eva Hesse’s Addendum (1967) forever left me with a sense of inspiration and hope. There was a transformative quality in her art that I wanted to explore further. This period of time would set me on a path to discover art and realize its importance in my life.
In 1999, my first paintings completed in Austin led me to hold a solo show of portraits. I moved back to Houston, where I began assisting family and friends at the Sicardi Gallery in 2000. I enrolled in art classes at Houston Community College, followed by studio classes at the University of Houston. I studied in the painting program prior to accepting my secondary teaching position. The experience in formal art studio classes was wonderful, as well as teaching students in school. I consider a self-taught foundation to be the strength in driving my choices.
In recent years, I have begun to focus on my own professional studio practice. I have had the opportunity to exhibit work in various solo and group shows, as well as collaborate with dance and theatre productions. My work is a part of private and public collections in Texas and around the United States. Teaching programs at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Maine College of Art have helped in my development. As I begin the next phase of my career, I look forward to more projects that challenge me and help my growth as an artist. My studio and home are in Houston, TX. I am currently represented by Blue Print Gallery in Dallas and Austin, TX.
