My paintings occupy the category of still life while working against the genre’s expectations by presenting objects in unfamiliar and surprising compositions. Working solely from real life, I explore light and color as I set up each painting’s composition. The objects themselves are distinctive: Classic still life objects, like fruit and drapery, are combined with overlooked and often discarded relics of our everyday lives. I use traditional oil painting methods in order to beautify the ignored and mundane. Objects speak to our senses, recalling our interactions with the world, evoking our memories. Poetic combinations of objects create new meanings and flatten any assumed hierarchies of status.  I have always admired still life painters and have been influenced and moved especially by Audrey Flack, Giorgio Morandi, and Juan Sanchez Cotan.