My recent paintings are influenced by my career as a graphic designer, my interest in textile design and Northern Renaissance and Flemish art history. Combining typography, stencils and texture with strong definition of form and spatial effects blurs the boundaries between commercial art, craft and fine art. My technique is an updated version of the Flemish School’s layered approach to painting. I begin with a graphite sketch. Followed by layers using water-based paints creating mid-tones, shadow and texture. The final layers are oil paint beginning with umbers and ochres, then color and finishing with details and highlights. These paintings are from my series Affinities. Affinity is defined as “a spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for someone or something.” The paintings are not portraits in the traditional sense, but they portray the individual by depicting the things they cherish. In my work I emphasize the beauty in the world around us as well as the things we have in common rather than the issues that divide us. I'm inspired by one of my favorite quotes by Maya Angelou: “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”