How long have you been creating?

Ever since I can remember. I won a drawing contest at a very young age of either 4 or 5 so I was recognized as having some sort of talent for it at a very early age. I'm also a musician and like to write songs so I go back and forth between visual art and music.

What is your media of choice?

Right now I enjoy using chalk pastels. I have a rambunctious toddler at home so I need a medium that is fast and I can put it down quickly if I have to.

The colors are bold and I especially like the look of it on black paper.

What are you motivations for creating?

It's an outlet for me. I have a lot of creative energy that has to go somewhere either making art or music or fixing up the house. This is something I can do at home and be with my daughter.

What other artists or movements inform your work?

I particularly like the expressionism. I love folk art - especially from Mexico and South America. I like George Tooker a lot. I relate to the autobiographical nature of Frida Kahlo's work. I love the political art from that time too.

Religious Icons also have an influence.

What do you find visually stimulating right now?

Lime Green! We have another baby on the way and I painted the nursery in that color. I find it to be very stimulating. I also love looking at other artist's work and find that to be inspirational. I love to collect art and if I had the money my house would be filled wall to wall with other artist's work.

What's the last book you read?

Do the children's books count? Not much time for reading these days but I did manage to read the highly recommended Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland.

While your subject matter is diverse, I see quite of bit of religious work sprinkled in. What keeps bringing you back to this subject matter?

I'm Catholic and my faith is very important to me. So many things that happen in this world are out of our control.

My relationship with God is the only thing I can control. When I do my art, especially the more spiritual stuff, it becomes a form of contemplative prayer for me. I find myself drawn to that subject matter particularly when things are stressful or things that are happening in the world really gets me down or upset. This is a way for me to find a sense of peace in a not so peaceful world.

What would you like your fellow EBSQ artists and our collectors to know about you and/or your work?

I love to watch Bollywood movies, especially the romantic musical ones that have Indian weddings. It's such a fantasy world but I love it and perhaps it's another influence on my art. The scenery is beautiful, the weddings and the outfits as well. I get such a kick out of the song and dance numbers.