Art is my outlet. When the world is overwhelming, when I’m afraid that I won’t be successful in my career, when I just need something to do – art is it. In art, I lose myself, and thinking ceases. In art, I stop thinking about my anxieties and my worries and I simply focus on matching hand movement to what my eyes see. I focus on still life because it doesn’t require me to think, just move.

I prefer to work in black and white with pencil and charcoal, although I also use oil paints when I have time. I also love photography. I’ve taken classes at the University of Pennsylvania when I was an undergrad, and also at Stanford as a grad student under Kevin Bean for drawing, and Jason Francisco for photography. From Kevin, I learned to trust my eyes. From Jason, I learned how photos tell stories (and we both love to tell stories about Philadelphia.) Since my last formal class, I’ve continued to draw, focusing on faces or portraits. In photography, I find special inspiration in my children, and I enjoy capturing their image as they grow. Every time I’m “home,” i.e. Philadelphia, I try to capture the moment there.

Through art, I access a part of my mind that is completely in the present. When I draw, I am only there, and hence not concerned about the past or the future, both of which cause anxiety in our lives as we worry about what we should have done and worry about what we will do, and in those moments we miss what is happening right now.

I hope you enjoy the small gallery assembled below.

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