I Got Jealous at Art Basel. Here's How It Changed My Art.
I walked into Art Basel Miami Beach last December ready to be inspired. Instead, I stood in front of this painting — and felt jealous.
It's done with oil stick on paper, beautifully framed.
My honest first thoughts:
"OMG that's beautiful. It's so simple. The composition is perfect. I can't believe they just scribbled with an oil stick on paper. That must have been so fun. I want to do that."
But underneath those thoughts? I felt slightly jealous. A little pissed off.
This piece was showing me something I wanted in my own work — and I couldn't quite name it yet.
What Art Basel Does to Me Every Year
Every time I go to Art Basel, I walk away impacted in a different way.
A couple years ago it was about my prices and presentation.
Last year it was about expanding what I believed was possible for my career.
This year it came down to one word.
Expressiveness.
What Expressiveness Means to Me
To me, expressiveness means expressing myself in my art even more authentically — however I want, without second-guessing it.
I've always believed that the best art is the most authentic expression of the artist. And I've always strived to grow my practice in the direction of more authenticity.
That simple oil stick painting made it concrete. Seeing someone just let go — make marks, pure and unfiltered — reminded me that the most powerful work often comes from the least self-censorship.
Introducing: Natural Expressions
That clarity kicked off a new series of oil paintings: Natural Expressions.
These are oil on canvas paintings made by getting into motion and staying in motion — without questioning my actions or overthinking things. Making whatever I purely want to make.
Here are the first three paintings from the series.
Natural Progressions 3 — Oil on Canvas, 36" × 48"
Before making this piece, I had gotten some new colors and made some smaller studies with them. Although I had been making rectangular compositions so far, I wanted to do something with more expressive marks, outside of straight lines.
While working on it, I continued to strive for natural expressions — making whatever I purely wanted to make.
I couldn't help myself from creating a border, because I just feel it helps bring the piece together. In the main body, a beautiful gradient is produced by a beautiful mix of colors, with a backdrop of texture from layers below.
Natural Progressions 2 — Oil on Canvas, 30" × 40"
For the second piece in this series, I wanted to intentionally use some colors I don't use as often, combined in ways I don't usually combine them.
I continued exploring the present-moment expressiveness of this series — getting into motion and staying in motion without questioning my actions or over-thinking things.
What resulted was a composition I naturally loved: the darker border contains the picture, while the darker bottom section holds more weight at the bottom, creating a sense of stability — like the keel of a sailboat.
Natural Progressions — Oil on Canvas, 18" × 24"
The first piece in the series. This builds off the Natural Expressions direction but pushes into new territory. I fell in love with the raw, expressive marks that oil sticks create — and wanted to let something flow out of me.
Gradients of color — still a lot of blue — layered with gestural marks that carry the energy of the moment they were made.
This piece has sold.
See the Full Series
If any of these paintings speak to you, reach out here or browse all available work.
