My art is composed of hand drawn and cut stencils, spray paints, and various printed material collage. The name Design & Destroy reflects upon the over abundance of these materials and the recycling of different media to form new creative works. The dissection and destruction of books, comics, and other printed work becomes the foundation for reintroducing their content to the world in a new light. The majority of the work draws upon the popular culture of my youth and present day, from literature, to film, to music. Portraits of characters and musicians we’ve grown to love attempt to capture the essence of their personalities and spark in the viewer a memory of their own experiences with the subject matter. The many printed materials, upon closer look, provide additional treasures to discover and uncover their relation to the overall piece. While many stencils consist of a single layer, these paintings are composed of anywhere from six to a dozen overlapping layers of color, primarily black, forming the illusion of gradation and depth.

Residing in cozy New England, my studio sits directly between New York City and Boston. After graduating with my bachelors in design, I worked for a firm in Hartford before setting off on my own. Painting was a way to reconnect to my fine art roots after spending so many hours a day in front of a computer. Stencils, and their ability to be reused, mirrored the computer’s ability to quickly produce variations on a theme. My first stencils were composed of 1 to 3 layers and have progressed over the years to sometimes as many as a dozen. Subject matter has always revolved around those things that have influenced my life: music, film, literature. While I find inspiration and a challenge presented from other fine artists, the creativity and process of other media has always provided motivation to push forward: the way Truman Capote can so masterfully compose a sentence, the song writing of Paul Simon, or the comedy of Steve Martin. By painting these popular, culture shaping figures I’m merely paying homage to those who have provided color to my life and work. Really I don’t see pop-art today as much different than the pre-Raphaelites painting their favorite Shakespearean play, romantic poem, or a portrait of a composer. That was the entertainment of their day as these things are to ours. And as far as the masters go, the portraits of Renoir or Rembrandt, the story-telling of Rockwell, or the visual interpretation of van Gogh are all among some personal favorites. I try to stop by the Met or MoMA every other month for a recharge from the past. If not there, I’m usually scouring through used book stores for the latest addition to my collection or for new materials for collage. I don’t believe any artist really has any down time—we’re always absorbing and cataloging ideas and inspiration for what’s next on the horizon.

My work is shown in galleries throughout the country including Gallery 1998, Spoke Art, Hero Complex Gallery, Phone Booth Gallery, Ltd. Gallery, and more. Many paintings here in the store have been on view in gallery shows, while others—such as the mini paintings—are exclusive to Storenvy.