When first learning how to master charcoal, I practiced drawing my images by bringing value forward. I was looking at the film of a statue that was projected out of focus. This is one of the few pieces that survived from my early years exploring my Studio Art minor.

The Old Man is a 40x30 inch charcoal layered drawing. I first covered the canvas with multiple layers of extra dark charcoal, then brought my image forward by using an eraser and a highlighting pen. This piece was featured in TCU's student-ran journal of the arts, Eleven40seven, and TCU's gallery of fine arts.

A Light Lining is a 18x24 inch charcoal drawing. A simple class assignment to define the shapes of highlights. This is my perception of a tea pot lid.

To compliment my highlighting series, an experiment that included using color to represent textures and lighting. Each one of the five oil pastel colors I used represented a certain tone that I perceived.

A 18x24 inch oil pastel drawing experimenting with using cool and warm textures to represent shadows and highlights.

In the midst of my longterm projects, I wanted create a piece that was simple and beautiful. I wanted to take an incomplex item and see what my interpretation of it would be without studying it and planning out the piece's structure. After this 15 minute sketch, I explored this object deeper through a complete series titled The Leaf.

This is my personal play off of 17th century's, Italian painter Caravaggio's Cardsharps. After studying this piece in the Kimbell Art Museum, I interpreted it to resemble a story of cheating a card game. With using colored pencils, green tea, and acrylic paint I took the Cardsharps to a literal creation.

This 20x30 inch piece was made with black, sepia, and white charcoal. I used these three tones to represent shadows, mid tones, and highlights. 

Heritage was my last creation from The Leaf series. In contrast to 15 Minutes, this piece is the result of studying the object's physical appearance, deeper meaning, and preliminary stages. I used colored pencils, ink, and I also experimented with unusual mediums such as black tea.

This 22x30 inch drawing was my longest running project and my personal favorite. The majority of the piece was made simply with black ink and a scraper. This collage is a variation of succulent cactus species and a hidden mermaid!