Everyday I am confronting the unknown possibilities of my imagination with fearless passion. Through my unwavering devotion to craft and culture, I am reaffirming my humanity through the gift of creating. I have no choice in this because it is simply who I am. I am an artist and like all true artists, our inner urge cannot be bought, taught or bartered. It just is.

This all-encompassing, involuntary need to express myself artistically has always been a haven from the difficult realities that can sometimes beset a young Black man-child reared in this society. But as I began to grow in age, a very strange thing occurred. My place of solace, my art, began to reflect the troubled world from which I tried to escape. I soon realized that my predestination as an artist was directly linked with the burdens I have for my community and for society as a whole. This is not the mission of every artist, but for me, I feel the need to examine the social, spiritual and political realities of our times and how these events interweave through the tears and triumphs of my people. My work tends to reflect the point of view of the forgotten ones and sometimes seeks to provide hope and joy to those in barren places.

As a painter, filmmaker and designer, my method of creating is very organic and improvisational in nature, yet I am also extremely purposeful and deliberate in my application. By applying these jazz-influenced principles to my process, I endeavor to create both spontaneity and structure simultaneously within my work. I lovingly embrace the aesthetics of craft, particularly the African-American aesthetic. Our use of color, composition, texture, tone and rhythm is unique, with traditions that can be traced back to the beginning of mankind.

As a teacher, I want to help my students believe that their contribution to humanity is not only valuable but also very much needed. I want them to know that by adding their small chip to this great mosaic called life, that their honest, heartfelt expression will make the vast image a little clearer for everyone.

We are travelers all, and in this brief space of time in which we physically occupy this plane of reality, what we leave behind, our works and deeds, can be criticized or canonized for many years to come. Ultimately, I can only hope that my art and the works of all whom would learn from me, is experienced, speaks truth and is deemed relevant to the human cause.