Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been drawn to Halloween, not only because my birthday is the day before, but also because it’s the only time of year when every suburban lawn can be turned into an art installation without being sentimental. I’m inspired by what the horror genre and Halloween evoke—heavy metal music, gothic castles, the devil, and the supernatural. I combine these impressions, as well as politics, landscape, and sense of touch, with past experiences to build my own kind of romanticism in painting.

My use of romanticism is balanced with progressive attitudes about today’s issues, and my paintings are often difficult to accept as pretty postcards. The paintings are based on photographs of scenes from daily life that are then embellished, and sometimes subverted, until the familiar is combined with the absurd in a way that fits my vision.