As an anxious and restless creative, with a million ideas, it's rare that I ever truly feel settled. There was an excitement in 2003 to leave home and attend art school in the intimidating city of Detroit; begin my adult life. My youth was enjoyable, innocent and safe, however freedom and independence were amoungst my strongest desires at 18 years of age. Reflecting almost 20 years later, I never would have imagined I would be spending all of my adult life searching for that safe sense of "Home".
Until now, I never really found it.
I move. Quite a lot.
I have tried to call home to Tuscon, Asheville, Boulder, Salt Lake City, Northern California, Portland. There were even a couple years where, after building out a home in a school bus, I decided home was meant to be mobile.
The story of my creative career was also quite similar.
I have tried painting, cabinetry, tatooing, video production, photography, graphic design. Painting was always my constant, however, even that was unsettled.
I have had deep dives into the genres of abstract, figurative, graffiti, murals, acrylic then oil and back again. Colorful abstractions, monochromatic, geometric, and accurate renderings, soft color and smooth, vivid color with texture. Years worth of painting, as a collection, could be mistaken for a group show.
The past few months have brought much clarity around this. After deciding that Detroit is home, and will always be home, I purchased a house there, and set up the paint studio. My very first project in this space you are seeing now in this collection of work. It's a showcase of my truest sense of security and comfort.
Seeking out what actually are my "constants", I've concluded:
- Detroit was and always will be Home
- Colorful abstract paintings will always be my most honest body of work