In my fine art and graphic design practices, I am fascinated by the challenge of portraying the essence of my subjects. This pursuit takes form in drawings, sculptures, and prints that appreciate what my interests look like, as well as infographics, diagrams, and user interfaces to elucidate their other attributes. I render the tangible and intangible relationships in subjects such as architecture, machinery, still lifes, animals, flowers, small creatures, and nature, from the vastness of landscape to the minuteness on the ground at my feet. Each subject has some unreachable grandeur or mystery that I grasp for with detailed, often photographic art. Coming from another angle, information design opens the door to my problem-solving side. I explore detailed or confusing topics like refilling printer ink or planning a manageable hike and elucidate them to others. I draw from acquired research, and when possible my personal connection with my subject, to render authentic, appealing visuals. Accuracy and precision characterize my work in all media. I finely detail my drawings, plan out my mixed media and sculptural works, and connect many individual parts in designs to best convey the meaning.

In a way, most of my artworks are models: miniaturized versions of things I could never possess, drawn hair by hair, placed letter by letter, or built piece by piece. Art and design can’t make a real creature, building, or even a real leaf, so my work grasps their imprints—their images, their forms, and their movements in order to understand them. What distinguishes my constructions from photographs or other exact reproductions is my hand-placement of many small pieces. Whether I’m drawing a portrait or building an infographic, the process is as important to me as the finished product. The labor and time my work requires make my subjects more meaningful to me. I chase after the autonomous essence of my subjects, not so much to pin them down as to learn about and enjoy them.