I am a figurative painter who is passionate about creating a body of work that contemplates the racism that permeates our society. My portraits reverently depict individuals who are often the targets of the violence symptomatic of a biased society. Despite their individual experiences, the subjects are linked by moments in their lives in which they are stripped of control over both their present and future. In my painting It’s Only a Matter of Time, my father represents all men of color. He pensively holds a shovel in his hand, symbolically representing the danger that Black men face on a daily basis. The shovel can be raised in defiance, or used to help society prepare the Black man’s own grave—a dichotomy that pervades every action and subtle movement that people of color make. I seek to capture the beauty within all of my subjects and inspire hope for change, so that the strengths and talents of people of color can have the freedom to flourish and grow.