MOMENT OF TRUTH OVER THE EDGE CANTINA BLUE DEFRAGGING easier quickly and the anxiety goes away. As a full-time artist, you spend hours on end alone in the studio. How do you keep yourself company and also balanced? I listen to music and listen to YouTube. Sometimes audio books. There is no balance. I try to get exercise every day. Your paintings are so rich in detail I’m curious how long one typically takes to complete. And do you work on multiple pieces at once or are you a one project at a time creator? The time involved for each painting ranges from two days to four months, depending of the size and complexity. More robots and larger paintings equal more time. I usually have three paintings going at once while thinking of others. You work with recurring themes and what’s grabbing your attention at the moment in culture, movies, historical events, nature and space. What’s grasping your attention this year? This year’s theme is much of the same as past years but I have thrown King Kong, Barbi, Cthulhu and ice cream into the mix. You’re deeply inspired by traveling and being out in nature. Recall a trip that transformed you. On a day-to-day basis, what are your go-to nature SOMEWHERE IN PROVIDENCE getaways in San Francisco? The most transforming trip was probably when I was 9 when I, my father and two brothers hiked down a mountainside to the Middle Fork of the Yuba River in California. An exhausting and near-death experience. My days are no longer filled with many nature adventures but I do get to look across the San Francisco Bay every day from my art studio. What is the key to being a lifelong artist? A person will need to have persistence, desire, adaptability, resilience — in the face of many setbacks, sacrifice — an open mind and a good work ethic. He/she will need to write down their dreams, aspirations and have a plan with goals and deadlines. A pragmatic approach. Few people make a strong career right away. I think of it as a marathon. Though your work is chock-full of comedy and lightheartedness, it’s dually deeply emotional and complex, showcasing humanized characters expressing an array of feelings and physical states — even with your faceless baked goods. Is your work at all autobiographical or does it lean more heavily on fiction? Thank you. A combination of the two, I would say. My oil paintings are dreamscapes where robots and donuts coexist in strange harmony — symbols of indulgence, routine, and the absurdity of modern life. 9
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