I grew up in Vista, California, in northern San Diego County. I was drawn to create from an early age, often depicting images of animals. Over the years, I pursued my interest in the fine arts in tandem with my affinity for horses and horseback riding. Since the age of thirteen I have had my own horse, an ex-racehorse named Alpha’s Halo. I’ve primarily been focused on creating a body of work that reflects my close relationship to my horse as I care for him. For these, I work in oil paints on oil primed wood panel or aluminum composite material. Most often I start the process of a painting by creating an underpainting and building layers of paint on top, gradually getting into more detail. Towards the end stages of a painting, I will glaze over areas if subtle shifts are needed, or scumble if I need to add more layered effects. I like to think of these paintings as observations of moments that aren’t often seen by those unfamiliar with horses. Some of the paintings represent the care involved in horse ownership, while others focus on how horses behave when they are just being horses. My intention is to capture my familiarity with my horse’s specific likeness and characteristics and translate them in graphic and compositionally unconventional ways.