It’s a collaboration with my inner 5-year-old; one of us is an experienced artist steeped in formalism, while the other just wants to play with colors, lines, and odd compositions. Together we create art that elicits emotion in much the same way that a piece of music might—different compositions resonate on different frequencies, evoking different feelings. I ride those same waves—feeling excited when the work is exciting, reflective when the work is quiet—and I harness them to carry me from one piece to the next.

When I create, I observe and consider the world — its intensity, its purity, its rough edges — and choose to interpret it with saturated colors, positive shapes, and equanimity. Essentially, I paint optimism.