09 | HELP

My focus is that of the figure, portraiture, and hands. However, emotion has always been an intentional part of my art as well; and how my own feelings and the viewers tend to show through the colors and expressions of the figures and portraits I paint. I am starting to focus on hands more now that I have found an interest in sign language; I think it is a beautiful way to communicate because it is spoken with gestures and understood with your eyes.

To paint is to release, and I need a release and the calm that comes while making art... I have since my father died. Along with all the complications of losing a parent at young age, I found that mental health is something that needs to be worked at, and it is a hard job sometimes.

This painting is a message to all those working on their own mental health that there are other ways of asking for help besides speaking it. The sign language is for those who are in pain silently and need other ways to ask for help. I would like to accompany the mural/paintings with information containing suicide prevention and counseling. My hope is that the art will draw people’s eyes, and the message will be clear for those that find it intriguing enough to get close and understand.