Reflections on my process

I work in a variety of media including drawing, print-making, comics and animation. Drawing is the foundation of my practice and depending on the project I work from life, reference images, or my imagination. With direct expressionistic lines I aim to capture the essential structure and spirit of figures and forms.

My graphic novel/comics require a highly focused approach to drawing, mostly referencing photos or life. For some comics I design and ink a page in full, for others I draw images (and text) with ink or pencil and scan them into the computer then combine elements and create page spreads to be printed. I work to find metaphors and structures to embody and contain the ideas I’m trying to bring to life while also creating a mood or feeling to bring the reader into the feeling of the concepts.

My daily journal drawings are made without a plan, pencil to paper and draw, inspired by automatic drawing of the Surrealists. Direct lines are laid down quickly and loosely to create narrative instances. A single frame with characters, often human/animal hybrids, that are holding, confronting, biting, or nurturing one another. Or a solitary figure is gesturing toward it’s own fury. Conflict is often present, not resolved, in motion.

My animal drawing practice began years ago from an impulse bordering on obsession to draw them and has evolved to include woodblock prints and small wooden toy animals. I am interested in writing and research that explores the relationship between humans and animals and de-centers the human view. Donna Haraway’s work on inter-species kinship and John Berger’s “Why we look at animals” inspire me. I am looking to connect my animal images to other projects through collaboration.