Artist Statement :
The human’s desire to render or symbolize an animal’s likeness is both universal and ancient.
My artwork is constantly evolving along my life’s pathways to realize that desire.
Graphite portraits progressively adapted via pen and ink, acrylic, glass etching, and now, pyrography.
Working with wooden specimens has given this series the foundation it needed: becoming tangible representations of both the fleeting and lasting marks we make on this earth.
The use of nature is fundamental to the concept of Skulls & Souls, as its muse and medium.
Piece 1
Street Art#5; Young Buck Basquiat
Created: June 22, 2020
Location: Evolution Store, Broadway NYC
Medium: Fire on Plywood
Size: 65 ¼ x 41 ¼ x 1
Not For Sale
During the summer of 2020, NYC businesses were closed and boarded up. The pandemic had shut down the city in a way not seen for generations. Skulls & Souls set out to reclaim that which was taken over by fear. Skulls are symbols of strength and protection; the souls of those rendered on the city streets having been fueled by the unique fire that left their marks on this world.
Not far from Basquiat’s studio, Young Buck Basquiat was the fifth burning in the street art sessions and it was created on the Evolution store front window in June of 2020. This store has been a source of many creative materials for Skulls & Souls over the years. I
wanted to express support and thanks during such a difficult time for family-owned businesses.
Piece 2
Street Art #9, Theodore the Bull Moose
Created: November 8, 2020
Location: Washington Square Park, NYC
Medium: Fire on Plywood
Size: 4’ x 9’
The fall of 2020 was still cloaked in trepidation and the unknowns of Covid. This feeling echoed the epic story of Theodore Roosevelt: The ‘Bull Moose’ who found healing from his tragic losses by embracing the raw beauty of nature. Roosevelt was a key founder and defender of the National Parks and the American Museum of Natural History. By bringing nature into the heart of New York City, he was able to give a “dose” of wonder and awe of the natural world in a man-made metropolis.
In the very halls of The American Museum of Natural History, the spark was ignited that became Skulls & Souls. Theodore the Bull Moose was a reflective piece of appreciation and desire to share that primal yearning with so many who were looking for reminders of that which was not lost.
“Speak softly and carry a big stick – you will go far.”
Piece 3
Grizzly Bear
Created: September 2018
Medium: Pyrography and Acrylic on Bass Wood
Size: 20” x 20”
Not for Sale
In 2018, Skulls & Souls: Grizzly Bear was one of the first pieces of the series to incorporate pyrography. The study was to see how the soldering iron could apply both soft shading and deep details in one piece. Like the grizzly bear, this piece was fearless and transformed into confidence in a new creative medium. Working in this field has provided a meditation in patience. The choice of colors represents simplicity through the elementary.
Piece 4
Skulls & Souls: Sparrow
Created: October 2019
Medium: Pyrography on Bass Wood
Size: 24” x 36”
Not for Sale
Artist statement:
Being bold doesn’t always mean being big or loud. Sometimes, it’s the smallest things in our lives that can be the most complicated or the most fulfilling. Songbirds fill our world with such music that we profoundly miss when they stop singing. Only if we make it a point to truly listen, can we hear their melodies.