ARTIST Q&A

Born: Boston, MA

Currently lives: Allston, MA

Title of artwork: “Dinner for Two–Who’s Hosting Who?”

What’s it about?“Dinner for Two–Who’s Hosting Who?” is a medium-sized painting I made using a variety of acrylic painting techniques and materials including acrylic paint, molding paste, cellulose, and rice on canvas. In my practice, I use a variety of ways to apply paint such as stamping, pouring, airbrushing, and spreading with palette knives. This painting features my cat Iggy surrounded by a dining scene. I based the painting on a digital photo collage I made from a little dinner photo shoot in the spring.

Where else can we find your work? I have a few small paintings available through Deanna Evans Project’s Trove paintings section under $1k. These paintings will be available through the end of the year. I will also have paintings in the BU MFA exhibition in April 2024! If you want to stay up to date on my work and goings on, I post what I am up to on my Instagram and also have a newsletter that comes out every couple of months. The sign-up for that is available on my website.

Where is your favorite public art piece in the area? Though not in Boston, I always love driving by the Mystic River Mural in Somerville. It’s full of fun little local snippets. In Boston, I always like the Rose Kennedy Greenway mural, it’s a nice way to bring a rotating slot of artists to the city.

Who is your favorite Boston-area artist to follow?I love to keep up with all my fellow painters and current MFA candidates in the area.

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off? I love to have a casual start to the day, I am a bit of a night owl so that includes sleeping in late and maybe getting brunch nearby. Afterward, maybe wander around the area. I live not too far from Coolidge Corner so a little wander into a couple shops is always nice, mostly for some classic window shopping. Later maybe head home, play a game, and make an overly complex dinner with my fiancé and our cats who make excellent helpers–or at least they think they do!

What was your top song for 2022? Take Me I’m Yours by Squeeze

Favorite food spot in in Allston, Brighton or the surrounding area? Bamboo Thai Restaurant

What have you learned about your creative practice in recent years? It is really important for me not to mix computer time and other work in the studio. I found I need to keep that space free from other pesky things so that when I am there and feeling overwhelmed by work or the paintings aren’t working out the way I expected, I am not tempted or distracted by other tasks. It needs to be kind of a protected space where studio time is devoted to painting and making.”

What is a piece of advice you would give to your past self as a young artist? The most valuable piece of advice I ever received was to go to the studio every day and make, even if it isn’t productive or the best, it becomes a habit that helps develop a practice. Being committed to lots of hard work, question-asking, and learning is essential to developing as an artist.

What is your dream project to work on? Large in scale and quantity. Having a solo show of paintings is a major goal for me in the coming years!