My current series of paintings has been influenced by everything from American folk art and traditional portraiture to geometric abstraction and provisional painting. While the ideas for my work originate from a narrative of my own invention, the depicted image is constructed from diverse sources. My studio is piled high with art books, auction catalogues, magazines, and Internet printouts from which I draw inspiration. My objective for each painting is not to duplicate any one recognizable art-historical style or technique, but rather to marry distinct painting histories in order to create something unique and dynamic. Throughout the painting process, the image on the canvas is continuously revised and reworked. Patterns, lines, and colors are introduced, and abstract marks take on representational functions. The finished painting results from a negotiation between the illusionary possibilities of the paint and the creation of a unified work, possessing an internal logic.