FOUNDATIONS COLLECTION
Where Every Journey Begins
A collection of paintings created during the formative years of my practice—when I was learning to see, learning to paint, and discovering the questions that would continue to shape my work.
Every artist begins somewhere.
For me, these paintings represent the years in which I was building the foundations of my practice through portraiture, observation, study, and experimentation.
I was learning to understand light.
To observe people more carefully.
To translate what I saw into paint.
And, perhaps most importantly, to discover what I wanted a painting to say beyond what could simply be seen.
These works record that process.
They are not simply paintings from an earlier period. They are part of the journey that shaped the artist I am becoming.
Learning to See
Before developing a personal visual language, there was learning.
Drawing.
Studying the figure.
Observing light.
Understanding colour and value.
Making mistakes.
Trying again.
Looking at the work of artists who came before me and asking why their paintings continue to hold our attention centuries later.
Portraiture became one of the places where I learned to slow down and truly observe.
A face could be measured, but a person could not be reduced to measurements.
Light could be studied, but its emotional effect was something I had to discover through painting.
These early works became my way of asking those questions.
The Questions That Emerged
As my technical understanding developed, different questions began to appear.
What makes a portrait feel alive?
What exists beneath what we can see?
How much of a person’s character can a painting reveal?
How does light change the way we experience a person or a moment?
What happens when a painting leaves something unresolved?
These questions appear throughout the works in this collection.
Some paintings explore expression.
Others explore light and shadow.
Some are concerned with imagination, memory, or emotion.
Others simply capture a fleeting moment that made me curious.
Together, they show the beginning of a practice built around looking more closely.
The Works
A record of Becoming
The paintings in Foundations span the formative years of my artistic development.
They include portrait studies, figurative works, explorations of light and shadow, and paintings inspired by literature, music, and the artists who captured my imagination.
Each work represents a different point in the process.
Some taught me technique.
Some taught me patience.
Some raised questions I didn’t yet know how to answer.
And some simply opened the door to the next painting.
Explore the Collection
Majestic Beast
The Truth Beneath the Mask
A reflection on the assumptions we make about others—and what might exist beneath outward appearances.
Wishful Thinking
A reflection on dreams, persistence, and the courage to turn imagination into something real.
Soul & Spirit
A study of the qualities that make a portrait feel alive beyond physical likeness.
Light & Shadow
An exploration of transformation, moral conflict, and the tension between what is revealed and concealed.
A Collection in Progress
The foundation is never really finished.
Every painting that comes after carries something forward from what came before—a lesson, a question, a way of seeing.
What I learned through these works continues to influence the paintings I create today.
The journey simply keeps unfolding.
Where These Foundations Lead
From Study to Purpose
The questions that began within these early paintings continue into my work today.
My practice has gradually moved from learning how to paint toward asking why I paint.
Today, that curiosity has developed into projects centered around people, influence, gratitude, learning, and the stories that shape us.
Portraits of Influence is one expression of that evolution.
From learning to observe people
to painting the people who have shaped me.
Explore Portraits of Influence →