I grew up in a very small town and my first imprint of the world was of a fragrant, mushy, natural space. When I left that world for New York City the intense geometry of the urban environment with its layers of shapes and repetitive forms seduced my attention like a laser pointer grabs a cat's eye.

I always carry a camera to capture any moment that catches my eye. My images, not particularly compelling on their own, make up a catalog of overlooked spaces and nothing moments. Spending time with my photos, I began to consider the nature of this space we have built to support, control and protect our lives.

From the images I became keenly aware of the anxious, anonymous proximity built into the urban space. Our living is dwarved and figures appear trapped in this weird geometry they've built for themselves. So, when the moment finally came for me to start painting from these pictures, the result was about looking at people. As I make a painting I pull out shapes and reduce detail, dictating and interrelating the patterns & geometries emerging from the concrete. I call the people out of their urban anonymity; frozen in unconscious moments of conversation, clutching a coat, waiting for a walk light, or fumbling through a pocket.

I work with highly saturated colors to both create a very simplified, designed, comic book-like aesthetic and to dislodge our common associations with shapes. Blue skies become the color of grass or fire. Heavy concrete bridges become light. Anonymous figures in shadow ring out in lemony yellow. I enjoy using areas of saturated color to flatten out the space and reduce what was three dimensional to a set of bright patterns such as one might see woven into Kente cloth.

Suspended in the urban geometry are the figures I've observed and even my own reflections as we navigate a controlled and manicured concrete environment. The subject I'm going for in this body of work is really these people, their separation and togetherness. What I hope people take from this body of work is the realization that they can re-perceive and play with their environment. It's not concrete, it's silly putty. Go ahead...

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