My portraits are studies in vulnerability. The eyes are “windows of the soul” for those willing to look beyond smiles. Smiles easily cover up real feelings and keep the world at bay. I ask my subjects to be comfortable just being still, to be at ease with who they are. I want to witness their deeper selves, to capture a moment of genuine emotion. Creating trust with my subjects is paramount; I am inspired by their sincerity and courage.

Capturing internal landscapes are the focus of my paintings at the moment. The recent ending of my 20-year marriage has left me with many questions, primarily on the nature of intimacy and authenticity. Being deeply present to the vulnerability of other’s has helped me navigate my own. My subjects may vary in age, occupation, social status and temperament, yet I see universal expressions in their unvarnished eyes.

While I paint in a bold, graphic style, the emotional content of my portraits are reflective. Both the emotionally raw nature of works by British painters Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud and the disciplined, deliberate works of American legends Edward Hopper and Wayne Thiebaud have influenced my style. My love of intense and unmodulated colors was implanted in my twelve year-old mind when I first saw a Henri Matisse painting inspired by his stay in the country of my birth, Morocco.