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I discovered my passion for art while working with Geriatric Psychiatry patients as a nursing assistant.  I came to learn that the act of creating art in group activities provided them with focus that helped pull back the mask of their symptoms. To me, their artwork transcended illustration as a window into their minds. I wanted to better connect and understand what my patients were experiencing, so I began creating art with them and found myself inspired to paint on my own. The realization of this connection between the patients and I by way of a common form of expression nourished a better understanding of one another, inciting a fire in me to study medicine and the inner workings of the human brain, and motivating me to follow my creative drive through painting.

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Art is a collaboration of the senses that challenges me to express myself in a language of pure visual imagery. My art is very instinctual and primal, and my hope for someone seeing it for the first time is that it provides a sense of déjà vu. Just as my patients' artwork was a window into their conditions, I view my paintings as mirrors to reflect the feelings and emotions of the viewer. What someone takes from a piece is more a result of his or her own personal experiences than from the painting itself. The work is merely a conduit that allows them to see it.