The diver has emerged as a profound metaphorical vessel in my artistic practice—a liminal figure suspended between states of being, embodying the delicate moment of transformative potential. My figurative oil paintings and charcoal drawings capture the fleeting instant where human form transcends the boundaries of known and unknown, corporeal and ethereal, serving as an ongoing investigation into the psychological and physical thresholds of what it means to exist as a being between two worlds. Figures transition from a place of heaviness and solidity to one of weightlessness and levity, striving to annihilate their forms through the process of painting. As a swimmer and artist, I am deeply drawn to the metaphorical richness of water as a dominion of subconscious exploration. Diving represents the critical suspended moment after committing to an action of great consequence and before arriving at its ultimate conclusion—a meditation on risk, the inevitable, and trust in the unseen.

The Diver II. To paint is to be in a state of prayer; to dive is to trust that the water will enfold around a falling body; to leap is to believe that a net will appear, placed by some greater entity that rewards moxie and fortitude. The diver condenses like dew and is collected, the moisture of which is placed on the parched tongue of the postulant, who is anointed with the holiest of waters.

*Please note that this painting is part of an exhibition that runs until April 12, 2026. Artwork will not be available for shipping or pickup until after the conclusion of the exhibition.

2024

Oil on canvas

60 × 48 in.

Unframed