With my paintings and drawings, I explore social and autobiographical events that produce emotional struggles, voids, and turmoil that a young adult encounters growing up in contemporary society; the troubles one faces with anxiety and fear of the future. Coping with internal conflicts and self-destructive forces allows for the opportunity of continued viability. Many themes that I have been exploring have been related to inarticulateness, failure, addictions, bad habits, relationships, class rules, and conformity towards society.
I want to be challenged in developing as a story teller, one who describes his time and experience through image. I see myself exploring the dialogues that can be created by combining objects and titles that allow the viewers to reflect on personal experiences to create their own narratives. I want the viewer to reflect on present times with respect to prevailing conditions and trends. I achieve this by depicting objects that have preconceived notions from history and culture, placing them in a juxtaposed arrangement.

My Chaboo design complements the simplicity of the bamboo and its design by creating an overall aura or color field that represents weathered wood, contrasting with the fresh cleanness of the new bamboo. I did not want to just use the surface of the Chaboo as a canvas and paint or draw an image on it. My goal was to develop a relationship between my stained surface and the rest of the piece, creating a unified dialog that complements each surface. I achieved this by layering stains in a linear stripe pattern, following the grain of the bamboo. Going with the theme of keeping it "simple", I used a minimal amout of materials/products to achieve my desired look. I chose two stains; Red Mahogany and Charcoal, one 1/8 inch paint brush, and a cloth rag. Knowing that the stains differed in base tones, the Red Mahogany being more red and orange, and the Charcoal being more green and blue, allowed me to apply and wipe off the stains in varing amounts, giving multiple tones out of only the two stains. Repeating this technique multiple times, allowed the stains to create depth and age, achieving my desired weathered look.