The Arrested Series paintings focus on criminal justice reform, substance abuse, homelessness, mental illness, and criminal activity. The images of individuals are found online in public police blotter websites. The filter of the mugshot allows me to explore the individual’s experiences and emotions at the moment the image was captured.

I consider these paintings to be journalistic portraiture and not classic fine art portraiture, which shed light on one of our most important issues of the day, incarceration in America. The moment-in-time, circumstance, and emotion captured in these images is real—not artistic re-creation.

I have also chosen not to give the viewer the charges on which the accused individuals were being held. By doing so, I allow the viewer room to create their own narrative of the circumstances surrounding the person’s arrest—which I hope will encourage a dialogue with the viewer on incarceration in America and criminal justice reform.