I’m a representational painter who depicts images of public scenes and spaces in a way that seeks to challenge notions of normalcy and defamiliarize the every day. I often depict built American environments – with typical architecture, landscaping and street lamps – in faintly odd guises. The paintings frequently employ visual cues associated with surveillance photography – high vantage points, obscured sightlines, and harsh security lighting – to further heighten awareness and evoke unease in the viewer. This atmosphere of uncertainty is amplified by the physical qualities of the works, themselves. I apply paint to the back of loose-weave linen, forcing it through the fabric. What extrudes out the front appears as loops of yarn or strands of colored threads and gives the paintings a lush, visceral appeal. Viewers often describe a strong impulse to touch the work, and the paintings are frequently mistaken for carpets, tapestries or needlepoints.The slippage between media is purposeful. It activates a sense of the uncanny and materializes my preoccupation with the liminal nature of our current moment. Narratives are indecipherable. Ambiguity and instability are central themes.