The paintings and drawings I make in the Inductive Series explore the limits of reason in an unlimited universe. I try to make images of alternative worlds because I want to encourage the viewer to consider how our circumstances could be different. I also work to create art that generates curiosity in the viewer about how our internal representations are built and sustained. I want the dynamic energy of a piece to undermine its apparently static nature, and I think art has a unique ability to open our minds to our surroundings.

As a therapist I appreciate the importance of critical thinking and pattern recognition in maintaining mental health, but I’ve also observed how challenging and even unproductive it can be to be reasonable. With art I seek to make a visual representation of the struggle to use the benefits of reason while dodging its drawbacks.

To do this, I practice a general approach I call an inductive method.

The inductive method entails alternatingly letting plans lead to improvisations and letting improvisations lead to plans. The subject matter and any representations emerge from the method of painting, rather than the other way around. Instead of embodying the rational and goal-directed influences of our complex socio-economic realities, I try to hold faith that beauty and meaning will present themselves if I keep doing what feels right.

Using oil paints on canvas I make millions of tiny decisions, some more reasonably than others, with the hope that the visual evidence of my approach to art can impact a viewer’s approach to mental health, relationships, and communities. I work to imbue my art with the message that we can live in a world where everybody has the freedom to dedicate unlimited time to play and expression, and the best response I can get to my paintings is that they inspire someone to make their own.