9 × 12 Oil and Cold Wax on Birch Panel (1“ deep).

This piece was featured in the 2026 Artisphere Artists of the Upstate Juried Exhibition. 

From the Artist: A co-worker once told me, “You don’t have to be big to do big jobs” and that sentiment has stuck with me.

In moments of doubt, I remember it. I remember that little things add up to a lot and that sometimes our only limitations are the ones we set for ourselves.

Wild and Free, at its core, is about love. It’s about the small pieces - in this case - marks, strikes, gestures of the palette knife, that make up a love story. A love story with ourselves, with someone else, with a place in time.

16 × 20 Oil and Cold Wax on Birch Panel (1.5'“ deep)

From the Artist: Van Gogh’s last self portrait has these incredible blue-y yellow colors with green undertones and I’d been thinking a lot about it when I came up with the idea for this painting. Specifically, what if it was a landscape?

Van Gogh’s use of color didn’t necessarily mirror nature, he often amplified what he saw. His art was a peak into the way his mind worked, a mind that seemed to live in both turmoil and deep passion. He fired the shot that ended his life in a field and walked back to the Inn he was staying at, ultimately passing a couple of days later.

With this story in mind, I set out to create a landscape that honored Van Gogh’s use of color in his self portrait and how he approached his work. A landscape that a busy mind could find stillness in, with a resting place in the distance.