Artist Statement

As a child, I had spent nearly every weekend watching cartoons with my father. Perhaps it is based in nostalgia, but I have never moved fully past this interest. I continually find myself drawn to cartoons as well as any illustrated type of work; whether it is an illustrated music video, cartoon-style album art, a children’s show, or a vulgar cartoon comedy. Using what is traditionally seen as a medium for a younger audience, a cartoon-style work can carry extra weight when it contains mature themes, such as Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies which is a graphic depiction of the consequences of war. Pendleton Ward’s Adventure Time is another example of a show directed at children having themes that are valued by adults as well. Adult Swim features animated shorts that can feature grotesque, absurd, or psychedelic imagery.

I am interested in creating works that have the ability to bring the audience to their simpler childhoods through aesthetics, while still being thought-provoking to a more mature audience.  I don't consider myself a good photographer, so i was driven to create images through illustration almost by necessity. With illustration, it is possible to create any "reality" which makes it a very liberating form of expression.