All of my paintings are acrylic on wood. I wanted the people to be raw, down to earth, natural, rugged. I wanted to convey the essence of the subject completely. One day I was riding through a neighborhood full of new construction and noticed all of the wasted wood piled up to be burned and sticking out of the tops of dumpsters about to be hauled off. I thought to myself, "what a shame to waste all that precious wood! A tree gave it’s life to provide that wood!" That's when it hit me that it was the perfect medium for the project I was about to undertake. I got out of the car and asked one of the workers to help me load a few muddy pieces into the trunk. I brought them back to my tiny apartment, washed them off, and turned them into MUN'S CATCH, M.L. CONN, AND SISTERS-IN-LAW. I knew upon completing those that I had found the perfect medium, “oops” paints and “cull” wood.


The SWEET JESUS series began after I moved to this cabin in the woods. A friend gave me a captain's twin bed for my spare room. It was boring plain wood, and as I was assembling it, I realized that it could not become a fixture in my house looking that drab. I painted the drawers and the frame of it, and when I got to the footboard, I pondered what I would paint there if I wanted to say, perhaps to a child that may someday sleep there, "Rest well, don't be afraid" or "Now I lay me down to sleep"... something of that nature. Then I thought about painting a picture of a smiling, friendly face of Christ saying that he will protect him as he sleeps. Thus the birth of the first SWEET JESUS painting. Upon completing it, I knew that I had painted Jesus in a manner that young people can really relate to. No crown of thorns, no blood, no FEAR, but a loving, gentle, friendly, trustworthy protector. I am told that this new face of the king of kings might stir controversy among the traditional religious. I say fine. This is the face of MY Jesus...all-accepting, all-loving, triumphant over death and fear...everybody's Jesus. This is the Jesus that speaks the language of a new generation of believers. To me, that's a very big deal. Therefore the series continues. I've been told that I have a lot of balls to portray him in this manner. What manner? Real? So be it. Jesus Christ was the most controversial, “ballsy” guy of his day. He stood up to the criticism of the Pharisees, insisting on reaching out to everyone with the love of the Father regardless of who they were. I was raised a rural Southern Baptist, and I was never taught about the unconditional love of Jesus. As a child, I attended KKK hate rallies with the adults on Saturday nights. Sunday mornings would find us in church being told by a high-volume, frothing preacher that if we didn't believe, didn't honor, didn't tithe, we'd suffer the wrath of God in the eternal firey pits of hell. As a result, I became scared and confused. Later I realized that’s not MY Jesus.

If you would like to view my complete works please visit my album here.