Male

35

I currently paint with LEGO bricks and various mixed media in my studio in the Castro.

I've been painting since I graduated with honors from California Polytechnic with a BS in Applied Art and Design in 1999.

My technique is an odd one and irksome to describe in words but basically comprises a layering of acrylic dots. Each dot is about 1/4 inch in diameter. The dots are created via the studs of a LEGO brick by stamping the plastic toy directly on canvas. The result is a familiar dot pattern similar to pixels but round and layered among recycled candy and gum wrappers, found objects on the streets of SF, receipts, napkins, fabric softener, MUNI/BART transit passes virtually anything discarded and unloved is found in my work.

I'm interested in witty art that when engaged, embody a provocative message. The smirk is my aim. My interest in "Dick and Jane" characters as foils for telling stories in my art harks back to my mother who as a reading specialist flooded my childhood with books (and LEGO bricks) that were filled with the simple lives of young boys and girls habituating the pure and simply drawn American landscape. Just like these Dick and Jane readers introduced new words and sentences to their audience I too am introducing a new vocabulary to mine.

Some of this vocabulary is spelled out in reoccurring characters who's symbolic nature sneaks in and out of the seemingly pleasant lives of children and their pets:

The Pill Bottle (my version of the Campbell's soup can but generally orange and with a bit more... depth)
Armless robot (really its a special but insightful LEGO man)
Q bert (the first pixelated video game character to show emotion: #@&!)
The Fire Hydrant (pressure... makes me anxious just looking at it)
The innocuous triad of innocent flowers
and many more...

all finished by stamping with the studs of a LEGO brick.

I also make LEGO eye wear for going out and about... I have sensitive eyes.

Examples may be viewed at:

www.pixelstud.com