My passion for wine began during art school in San Francisco while I was tending bar as a side job in college and taking frequent trips to Napa Valley to paint the vineyards. After graduation, I moved to Savannah, GA where I poured wine at a fine dining restaurant & wine bar and painted full time. I exhibited my wine paintings, built my wine network, and sold my artwork from behind the bar. I am very passionate about food and wine. Chefs and Winemakers are artists and I have an enormous respect for their craft. My favorite places in the world are food and wine centric. It was through working in the restaurant industry where I fell in love with the magic of wine. Often, at my own art openings, you will find me posted behind the bar pouring wine for my guests. In 2016, I jumped into complete abstraction and my journey into flavor expression began. Today, I paint taste; FLAVOR is my muse.

 

My paintings have always been a reflection of my passion for food, wine and joie de vivre. A gourmet at heart, I immersed myself into an epicurean culture and became very much influenced by my connectedness to the world of wine.

 

Monet's quote, “I would like to paint the way a bird sings” is an infinite inspiration in my work. 

 

I graduated with my BFA in Fine Art Painting from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2004, with a focus on still life. I am classically trained in traditional realism, however, after a creative breakthrough and shift from realism to abstraction, I no longer wish to emulate reality in the form of representational paintings; rather, my pursuit is to harness the soul of flavor. I am no longer interested in “painting the bird,” I wish to convey its song.

 

My paintings are abstract expressions of taste: capturing flavor through color, texture, motion and palette knife strokes in oil onto canvas. Beyond the canvas, I curate story-based exhibitions that cultivate interactive dialogue and create impactful emotional connection. Surrounding art with experience, leaves lingering memory impressions the way the song of a bird resonates after it takes flight from the moment.  My intention is to deepen the relationship one has with fine art through storytelling, by blurring boundaries, and confusing the senses.

 

Through the universal language of food, wine and art we are able to transcend culture and create dialogue that dissolves barriers and transforms commonalities; we are able to achieve social inclusion which builds a sense of community, place, and emotional connection.

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Inspirations: CY TWOMBLY’s scribbles are immediate, raw and pure. ANDY WARHOL’s ability to cross mediums and connect industries is empowering. JACKSON POLLOCK’s action painting and spontaneity encapsulates moments in time, never to be replicated twice or told in any truer form; his message is inside the motion of the paint. VINCENT VAN GOGH, my first influence and forever inspiration. I always think of myself as painting for Vincent. His life story motivates me to make a living as an artist, while I am living. And the people who support me during my lifetime are vital. 

 

MONET’s quote “I would like to paint the way a bird sings.” and POLLOCK’s words, “I want to express my feelings, not illustrate them.” are infinite muses in my work. 

 

Art has the power to convey emotion; the ability to vibrate empathy through its viewer to communicate a message that is otherwise intangible. The culmination of these artists elevate the way I think about the power of a brushstroke and exemplify the ability to tell a story with emotion.

 

I aspire to work with innovative like minded creatives, culinary professionals, musicians, companies and luxury brands in collaboration to elevate flavor into full sensorial experiences, internationally.