I am a packrat, so this series of paintings somehow stems from my habitual collecting of junk. I am interested is what people discard, whether it's on the street, in a dumpster, or at a thrift stores. Recently I've grown interested in how cigarette packs have become commonplace in the urban and rural landscapes alike. I have begun by collecting a variety of packs (menthols, lights, 100s) of any brand I come across, copy them by hand as precisely as I can on paper, cutting and scoring the paper to make my painting look as close to the machine produced pack as possible. To me, the pack is so closely related to the person who smokes the particular brand that I would sooner consider them portraits that unfold the identity of the consumer than just unfolded cigarette pack paintings.