Art tells stories that cannot be told any other way. My artworks come from living and working in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan; from over 20 years in the military; and from seeing incredible courage against adversity. I’m called to tell the stories of the people and places that have been through wrenching times. Their stories are important and deserve to be shared and not papered over.

My background is certainly unique. After two decades in the Navy, I returned to school and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from UNC Asheville. As a full-time artist, I created many of the paintings in this registry. In 2008 I went to Iraq for 18 months, first as a State Department officer and then with the Army Corps of Engineers, to help manage reconstruction programs. In 2011, I went to Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, for a year as the State Department member of a District Stabilization Team. During both of these deployments, I continued to create artworks about the people and places around me. Now I’m back in my studio, creating paintings that explore these experiences in greater depth.