Fundamentally, I think of my works as energetic objects that resemble paintings. These objects contain and transmit inner states and stories that have roots in past experiences, dreams, self analysis and what I see, feel and engage with in the here and now. I try to breathe it in, all of it, if I can.

Instinct and feeling drive my work while more conscious and analytical elements help to support and shape the process. That said, when things become too considered, measured or researched they die, at least that's the way it seems to work with me. I paint in bursts. I embrace the physicality of painting. Painting is, at base level, a physical act. A physical marking out of desire, passion, thought, wounds and light.

Themes of trust, personal freedom, desire, control, consent and the difficulty of rebuilding a sense of self, belief, curiosity and joy after trauma, particularly of a sexual nature, roll about inside my work. Its heart, body and mind contains a sexuality that wishes to be/is open, raw, fluid, complex and caring.

My images and narratives speak of our need for connection - a connected self, connection to others, connection to all that lives and breathes in the ecosphere. Diversity, building unity through recognizing and respecting differences, embracing the interdependence of each element of the living universe are key factors.

The urban netherworld - hazy, disfigured, looming - is also ever present. I draw energy from the streets and bright urban color. New York is the great melting pot. It is the great corrupter and rejuvenator, punisher and provider, a true teacher and friend. Its people are my people. My streets are filled with survivors, vulnerable but fierce, broken but remade according to their own formulas.

Sometimes the journey into a heart of darkness is not so dark, or diabolical, after all. Struggle and contradictions often contain the seeds of a new order. So despite the existence of menace, disquiet and chaos, my paintings ultimately advocate feelings and sensations of exuberance, surprise, overcoming, beauty and rebirth.