Through my art, I embark on a journey of exploring and expressing the vibrant inner worlds of girls and young women. I seek to capture the delicate balance between innocence and maturity, vulnerability and strength. By exploring the duality of childhood, embracing both the moments of joy infused with fantasy,the natural world and surreal elements, my portraits reflect of the profound impact that our childhood experiences have on shaping our identities.
I also have a fascination with dolls and in some of my work, a doll, the object of a little girl’s affection and idealization, is transformed by animating it with a life force infused with its own personal voice and a complex endowment of emotions and personality. The contrast between innocence and maturity is portrayed in a way that is both whimsical and disconcerting, hinting at the fleeting passage of time. I use vintage dolls to paradoxically elicit a sense of nostalgia coupled with subversive sentimentality. The influence both of Balthus' portrayals of prepubescent girls and the incongruous mysticism surrounding the constructions and assemblages of surrealist Joseph Cornell are echoed in this particular series of paintings.
Autobiographical in nature, the visual vocabulary I utilize expresses an inner dialogue between the eyes of my unique childhood experiences and the universal nature of innocence and purity associated with childhood in general. Here, the viewer is presented with a secret passageway through which they may experience their own childhood memories and emotions. By expressing the musings of my inner child I invite viewers to connect, reminisce, and to rediscover the resilience and beauty within us all.