My paintings reflect various cultural points of view on seemingly minor life events, things we take little notice of but which may impact us without our awareness. Each of my paintings tell a story. I use cartoon-like animals and other carefully executed cartoon-ish features to communicate these stories because most people relate them to early childhood exposure to humor. Watching or reading cartoons as adults, our initial expectation, based on the images' format, is humor. Cartoon-like images may also evoke a sense of nostalgia in the viewer and make my paintings, at first glance, more accessible. However, the sense that something is amiss should draw the collector in for a second look, to the next layer of meaning and it's secondary mood - one which may contradict the initial perception.