This project is the evolution and reexamination of Rexburg Coffee, a large figurative oil painting completed in 2008 in which I subconsciously depicted the physic air in and around each person represented. I constructed the configuration and color of their energy, as well as their pain and dark haunts. I did not discover I had done this for nearly five years after its completion. I hadn’t created anything like it since and wanted to investigate how this occurred, and ask my self the question; can I do this again, with conscience intention?

The second goal in this project was to combine the many different ways I work within my practice in fluid and cohesive way to express the specific way in which I experience people. To fulfill both goals I chose two individuals that have greatly impacted my life to represent in intimate portraits combining collage, figurative painting, and relief assemblage. I began the project with myself as the first subject to work out matters of cohesion between materials. After completing my self-portrait I was inspired to change the style of the work to provide finer movement and work more seamlessly with my chosen materials.

I perceive people’s energy in a visual way through an automatic blending of the senses known as Synesthesia. These portraits are a physical manifestation of each subject’s unique emotional energy configuration built using instruments of the language in which they speak. Better understanding of my sensory experience gained though out life of this project allowed me to use it as a beneficial tool in the production of these pieces.

My hope in creating these portraits is to foster deeper connections with my subjects, and a greater understanding of myself. I invite the viewer into this intimate experience that they may more deeply consider the inner lives of others and take with them a new perspective on people throughout your daily encounters with strangers, acquaintances, and friends.