My work is an ongoing investigation into my personal history. Attempting to create a dialogue between past and present, I work alternately from vintage photographs and from those that I have taken in and around the region of West Central Wisconsin.

The methodical process of painting allows me time to examine the details of the subjects–the humble dwellings and rural environments often associated with blue-collar values and customs–and has the transformative effect of connecting with the depicted time and place. By choosing the images for the paintings, I develop a sense of personal identity that serves as a kind of root system that makes the past real and tangible.

In the contemporary world, there can be a loss of intimate and regional connections one’s personal history. My work reflects a desire to maintain these connections.